DATE  DUE 

B£C  ] 4 1992 

3EC  18® 

8 

OCT  - 7 004 
NOV  - 2 2010 

_C 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/journeysindivers01pare 


Louis  Pasteur  in  his  laboratory 
By  permission,  from  the  painting  by  Albert  Edelfelt 


THE  HARVARD  CLASSICS 

EDITED  BY  CHARLES  W ELIOT  LL  D 


* 

SCIENTIFIC  PAPERS 

PHYSIOLOGY  . MEDICINE  . SURGERY 
GEOLOGY 

WITH  INTRODUCTIONS  AND  NOTES 
VOLUME  38 


P F COLLIER  & SON 
NEW  YORK 


UJZ  2ZfZ 
// z z 
/9/s 


Copyright,  1897 
By  G.  P.  Putnam’s  Sons 

Entered  at  Stationers*  Hull,  London 


Copyright,  1861,  1862,  1883,  1889.  1890,  1891 
By  Oliver  W'f.ndelt.  Holmes 

Copyright,  1892 

By  Houghton,  Mifflin  & Company 
All  Rights  Reserved 


Copyright,  1910 
By  P.  F.  Collier  & Son 


Designed,  Printed,  and  Bound  at 

'Cfot  Collier  Press,  ,®eto  gorfc 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Oath  of  Hippocrates . 3 

The  Law  of  Hippocrates 4 


Journeys  in  Diverse  Places  ....  Ambroise  Par£  9 

TRANSLATED  BY  STEPHEN  PAGET 

On  the  Motion  of  the  Heart  and  Blood  in  Animals  . 65 

William  Harvey  . . . translated  by  Robert  willis 

The  Three  Original  Publications  On  Vaccination 

Against  Smallpox Edward  Jenner  153 

The  Contagiousness  of  Puerperal  Fever 235 

O.  W.  Holmes 

On  the  Antiseptic  Principle  of  the  Practice  of  Surgery  271 
Lord  Lister 

The  Physiological  Theory  of  Fermentation  . . 289 

Louis  Pasteur 

translated  by  f.  faulkner  and  d.  c.  robb  (Revised) 

The  Germ  Theory  and  its  Applications  to  Medicine  and 

Surgery  (Revised) Louis  Pasteur  382 

TRANSLATED  BY  H.  C.  ERNST 

On  the  Extension  of  the  Germ  Theory  to  the  Etiology 

of  Certain  Common  Diseases  (Revised)  Louis  Pasteur  391 

TRANSLATED  BY  H.  C.  ERNST 

Prejudices  which  have  Retarded  the  Progress  of 

Geology Sir  Charles  Lyell  405 

Uniformity  in  the  Series  of  Past  Changes  in  the 
Animate  and  Inanimate  World  Sir  Charles  Lyell  419 

1 

(l)  HC  XXXVIH 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Hippocrates,  the  celebrated,  Greek  physician,  was  a contempo- 
rary of  the  historian  Herodotus.  He  was  born  in  the  island  of 
Cos  between  4yo  and  460  B.  C.,  and  belonged  to  the  family  that 
claimed  descent  from  the  mythical  TEsculapius,  son  of  Apollo . 
There  was  already  a long  medical  tradition  in  Greece  before  his 
day,  and  this  he  is  supposed  to  have  inherited  chiefly  through  his 
predecessor  Herodicus;  and  he  enlarged  his  education  by  ex- 
tensive travel.  He  is  said,  though  the  evidence  is  unsatisfactory, 
to  have  taken  part  in  the  efforts  to  check  the  great  plague  which 
devastated  Athens  at  the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesian  war. 
He  died  at  Larissa  between  380  and  360  B.  C. 

The  works  attributed  to  Hippocrates  are  the  earliest  extant 
Greek  medical  writings,  but  very  many  of  them  are  certainly  not 
his.  Some  five  or  six,  however,  are  generally  granted  to  be 
genuine,  and  among  these  is  the  famous  “Oath.”  This  interesting 
document  shows  that  in  his  time  physicians  were  already  organised 
into  a corporation  or  guild,  with  regulations  for  the  training  of 
disciples,  and  with  an  esprit  de  corps  and  a professional  ideal 
which,  with  slight  exceptions,  can  hardly  yet  be  regarded  as 
out  of  date. 

One  saying  occurring  in  the  words  of  Hippocrates  has  achieved 
universal  currency,  though  few  who  quote  it  to-day  are  aware 
that  it  originally  referred  to  the  art  of  the  physician.  It  is  the 
first  of  his  “Aphorisms”:  “Life  is  short,  and  the  Art  long ; the 
occasion  fleeting;  experience  fallacious,  and  judgment  difficult. 
The  physician  must  not  only  be  prepared  to  do  what  is  right 
himself,  but  also  to  make  the  patient,  the  attendants,  and  ex- 
ternals cooperate.” 


THE  OATH  OF  HIPPOCRATES 

I SWEAR  by  Apollo  the  physician  and  yEsculapius,  and 
Health,  and  All-heal,  and  all  the  gods  and  goddesses, 
that,  according  to  my  ability  and  judgment,  I will  keep 
this  Oath  and  this  stipulation — to  reckon  him  who  taught  me 
this  Art  equally  dear  to  me  as  my  parents,  to  share  my  sub- 
stance with  him,  and  relieve  his  necessities  if  required;  to 
look  upon  his  offspring  in  the  same  footing  as  my  own 
brothers,  and  to  teach  them  this  art,  if  they  shall  wish  to 
learn  it,  without  fee  or  stipulation ; and  that  by  precept, 
lecture,  and  every  other  mode  of  instruction,  I will  impart 
a knowledge  of  the  Art  to  my  own  sons,  and  those  of  my 
teachers,  and  to  disciples  bound  by  a stipulation  and  oath 
according  to  the  law  of  medicine,  but  to  none  others.  I will 
follow  that  system  of  regimen  which,  according  to  my  ability 
and  judgment,  I consider  for  the  benefit  of  my  patients,  and 
abstain  from  whatever  is  deleterious  and  mischievous.  I 
will  give  no  deadly  medicine  to  any  one  if  asked,  nor  sug- 
gest any  such  counsel ; and  in  like  manner  I will  not  give 
to  a woman  a pessary  to  produce  abortion.  With  purity  and 
with  holiness  I will  pass  my  life  and  practice  my  Art.  I 
will  not  cut  persons  labouring  under  the  stone,  but  will  leave 
this  to  be  done  by  men  who  are  practitioners  of  this  work. 
Into  whatever  houses  I enter,  I will  go  into  them  for  the 
benefit  of  the  sick,  and  will  abstain  from  every  voluntary 
act  of  mischief  and  corruption ; and,  further,  from  the  se- 
duction of  females  or  males,  of  freemen  and  slaves.  What- 
ever, in  connection  with  my  professional  practice,  or  not  in 
connection  with  it,  I see  or  hear,  in  the  life  of  men,  which 
ought  not  to  be  spoken  of  abroad,  I will  not  divulge,  as 
reckoning  that  all  such  should  be  kept  secret.  While  I con- 
tinue to  keep  this  Oath  unviolated,  may  it  be  granted  to  me 
to  enjoy  life  and  the  practice  of  the  art,  respected  by  all 
men,  in  all  times.  But  should  I trespass  and  violate  this 
Oath,  may  the  reverse  be  my  lot 

3 


THE  LAW  OF  HIPPOCRATES 


MEDICINE  is  of  all  the  arts  the  most  noble;  but, 
owing  to  the  ignorance  of  those  who  practice  it,  and 
of  those  who,  inconsiderately,  form  a judgment  of 
them,  it  is  at  present  far  behind  all  the  other  arts.  Their 
mistake  appears  to  me  to  arise  principally  from  this,  that 
in  the  cities  there  is  no  punishment  connected  with  the 
practice  of  medicine  (and  with  it  alone)  except  disgrace, 
and  that  does  not  hurt  those  who  are  familiar  with  it.  Such 
persons  are  like  the  figures  which  are  introduced  in  trage- 
dies, for  as  they  have  the  shape,  and  dress,  and  personal 
appearance  of  an  actor,  but  are  not  actors,  so  also  phy- 
sicians are  many  in  title  but  very  few  in  reality. 

2.  Whoever  is  to  acquire  a competent  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine, ought  to  be  possessed  of  the  following  advantages : a 
natural  disposition ; instruction ; a favorable  position  for  the 
study;  early  tuition;  love  of  labour;  leisure.  First  of  all,  a 
natural  talent  is  required ; for,  when  Nature  leads  the  way 
to  what  is  most  excellent,  instruction  in  the  art  takes  place, 
which  the  student  must  try  to  appropriate  to  himself  by  re- 
flection, becoming  an  early  pupil  in  a place  well  adapted  for 
instruction.  He  must  also  bring  to  the  task  a love  of  labour 
and  perseverance,  so  that  the  instruction  taking  root  may 
bring  forth  proper  and  abundant  fruits. 

3.  Instruction  in  medicine  is  like  the  culture  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  earth.  For  our  natural  disposition,  is,  as  it 
were,  the  soil ; the  tenets  of  our  teacher  are,  as  it  were,  the 
seed;  instruction  in  youth  is  like  the  planting  of  the  seed 
in  the  ground  at  the  proper  season ; the  place  where  the 
instruction  is  communicated  is  like  the  food  imparted  to 
vegetables  by  the  atmosphere ; diligent  study  is  like  the  culti- 
vation of  the  fields;  and  it  is  time  which  imparts  strength 
to  all  things  and  brings  them  to  maturity. 

4.  Having  brought  all  these  requisites  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  and  having  acquired  a true  knowledge  of  it,  we 

4 


THE  LAW 


5 


shall  thus,  in  travelling  through  the  cities,  be  esteemed  phy- 
sicians not  only  in  name  but  in  reality.  But  inexperience  is 
a bad  treasure,  and  a bad  fund  to  those  who  possess  it, 
whether  in  opinion  or  reality,  being  devoid  of  self-reliance 
and  contentedness,  and  the  nurse  both  of  timidity  and  au- 
dacity. For  timidity  betrays  a want  of  powers,  and  audacity 
a lack  of  skill.  They  are,  indeed,  two  things,  knowledge  and 
opinion,  of  which  the  one  makes  its  possessor  really  to  know, 
the  other  to  be  ignorant. 

5.  Those  things  which  are  sacred,  are  to  be  imparted  only 
to  sacred  persons;  and  it  is  not  lawful  to  impart  them  to 
the  profane  until  they  have  been  initiated  in  the  mvsteries 
of  the  science. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 

BY 

AMBROISE  PARE 


TRANSLATED  BY 

STEPHEN  PAGET 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Ambroise  Pare  was  born  in  the  village  of  Bourg-Hersent,  near 
Laval,  in  Maine,  France,  about  1510.  He  was  trained  as  a barber- 
surgeon  at  a time  when  a barber-surgeon  was  inferior  to  a sur- 
geon, and  the  professions  of  surgeon  and  physician  were  kept 
apart  by  the  law  of  the  Church  that  forbade  a physician  to  shed 
blood.  Under  whom  he  served  his  apprenticeship  is  unknown, 
but  by  1533  he  was  in  Paris,  where  he  received  an  appointment 
as  house  surgeon  at  the  Hotel  Dieu.  After  three  or  four  years 
of  valuable  experience  in  this  hospital,  he  set  up  in  private  practise 
in  Paris,  but  for  the  next  thirty  years  he  was  there  only  in  the 
intervals  of  peace;  the  rest  of  the  time  he  followed  the  army. 
He  became  a master  barber-surgeon  in  1541- 
In  Pore’s  time  the  armies  of  Europe  were  not  regularly 
equipped  with  a medical  service.  The  great  nobles  were  accom- 
panied by  their  private  physicians ; the  common  soldiers  doctored 
themselves,  or  used  the  services  of  barber-surgeons  and  quacks 
who  accompanied  the  army  as  adventurers.  “When  Pare  joined 
the  army,”  says  Paget,  “he  went  simply  as  a follower  of  Colonel 
Montejan,  having  neither  rank,  recognition,  nor  regular  payment. 
His  fees  make  up  in  romance  for  their  irregularity:  a cask  of 
wine,  fifty  double  ducats  and  a horse,  a diamond,  a collection  of 
crowns  and  half-crowns  from  the  ranks,  other  ‘honorable  presents 
and  of  great  value’ ; from  the  King  himself,  three  hundred  crowns, 
and  a promise  he  would  never  let  him  be  in  want;  another 
diamond,  this  time  from  the  finger  of  a duchess:  and  a soldier 
once  offered  a bag  of  gold  to  him.” 

When  Pare  was  a man  of  seventy,  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of 
Medicine  in  Paris  made  an  attack  on  him  on  account  of  his  use 
of  the  ligature  instead  of  cauterizing  after  amputation.  In  an- 
swer, Pare  appealed  to  his  successful  experience,  and  narrated 
the  “lourneys  in  Diverse  Places”  here  printed.  This  entertaining 
volume  gives  a vivid  picture,  not  merely  of  the  condition  of 
surgery  in  the  sixteenth  century,  but  of  the  military  life  of  the 
time;  and  reveals  incidentally  a personality  of  remarkable  vigor 
and  charm.  Pore’s  own  achievements  are  recorded  with  modest 
satisfaction:  “I  dressed  him,  and  God  healed  him,”  is  the  refrain-. 
Pare  died  in  Paris  in  December,  1590. 

8 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE 
PLACES1 

1 537- i 569 


The  Journey  to  Turin.  1537 

I WILL  here  shew  my  readers  the  towns  and  places 
where  I found  a way  to  learn  the  art  of  surgery : for 
the  better  instruction  of  the  young  surgeon. 

And  first,  in  the  year  1536,  the  great  King  Francis  sent  a 
large  army  to  Turin,  to  recover  the  towns  and  castles  that 
had  been  taken  by  the  Marquis  du  Guast,  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  Emperor.  M.  the  Constable,  then  Grand  Master,  was 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  army,  and  M.  de  Montejan  was 
Colonel-General  of  the  infantry,  whose  surgeon  I was  at  this 
time.  A great  part  of  the  army  being  come  to  the  Pass  of 
Suze,  we  found  the  enemy  occupying  it;  and  they  had  made 
forts  and  trenches,  so  that  we  had  to  fight  to  dislodge  them 
and  drive  them  out.  And  there  were  many  killed  and 
wounded  on  both  sides, — but  the  enemy  were  forced  to  give 
way  and  retreat  into  the  castle,  which  was  captured,  part 
of  it,  by  Captain  Le  Rat,  who  was  posted  on  a little  hill  with 
some  of  his  soldiers,  whence  they  fired  straight  on  the 
enemy.  He  received  an  arquebus-shot  in  his  right  ankle,  and 
fell  to  the  ground  at  once,  and  then  said,  “ Now  they  have 
got  the  Rat.”  I dressed  him,  and  God  healed  him. 

We  entered  pell-mell  into  the  city,  and  passed  over  the 
dead  bodies,  and  some  not  yet  dead,  hearing  them  cry  under 
our  horses’  feet ; and  they  made  my  heart  ache  to  hear  them. 
And  truly  I repented  I had  left  Paris  to  see  such  a pitiful 
spectacle.  Being  come  into  the  city,  I entered  into  a stable, 
thinking  to  lodge  my  own  and  my  man’s  horse,  and  found 

1 The  present  translation  is  taken  from  Mr.  Stephen  Paget’s  “ Ambroise 
Pare  and  His  Times  ” by  arrangement  with  Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam’s  Sons. 

9 


10 


AMBROISE  PARE 


four  dead  soldiers,  and  three  propped  against  the  wall,  their 
features  all  changed,  and  they  neither  saw,  heard,  nor  spake, 
and  their  clothes  were  still  smouldering  where  the  gun- 
powder had  burned  them.  As  I was  looking  at  them  with 
pity,  there  came  an  old  soldier  who  asked  me  if  there  were 
any  way  to  cure  them.  I said  no.  And  then  he  went  up 
to  them  and  cut  their  throats,  gently,  and  without  ill  will 
toward  them.  Seeing  this  great  cruelty,  I told  him  he  was 
a villain:  he  answered  he  prayed  God,  when  he  should  be 
in  such  a plight,  he  might  find  someone  to  do  the  same  for 
him,  that  he  should  not  linger  in  misery. 

To  come  back  to  my  story,  the  enemy  were  called  on  to 
surrender,  which  they  did,  and  left  the  city  with  only  their 
lives  saved,  and  the  white  stick  in  their  hands;  and  most  of 
them  went  off  to  the  Chateau  de  Villane,  where  about  two 
hundred  Spaniards  were  stationed.  M.  the  Constable  would 
not  leave  these  behind  him,  wishing  to  clear  the  road  for  our 
own  men.  The  castle  is  seated  on  a small  hill;  which  gave 
great  confidence  to  those  within,  that  we  could  not  bring 
our  artillery  to  bear  upon  them.  They  were  summoned  to 
surrender,  or  they  would  be  cut  in  pieces:  they  answered 
that  they  would  not,  saying  they  were  as  good  and  faithful 
servants  of  the  Emperor,  as  M.  the  Constable  could  be  of 
the  King  his  master.  Thereupon  our  men  by  night  hoisted 
up  two  great  cannons,  with  the  help  of  the  Swiss  soldiers 
and  the  lansquenets ; but  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  when  the 
cannons  were  in  position,  a gunner  stupidly  set  fire  to  a bag 
full  of  gunpowder,  whereby  he  was  burned,  with  ten  or 
twelve  soldiers ; and  the  flame  of  the  powder  discovered  our 
artillery,  so  that  all  night  long  those  within  the  castle 
fired  their  arquebuses  at  the  place  where  they  had  caught 
sight  of  the  cannons,  and  many  of  our  men  were  killed  and 
wounded.  Next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  the  attack  was 
begun,  and  we  soon  made  a breach  in  their  wall.  Then  they 
demanded  a parley : but  it  was  too  late,  for  meanwhile  our 
French  infantry,  seeing  them  taken  by  surprise,  mounted  the 
breach,  and  cut  them  all  in  pieces,  save  one  very  fair  young 
girl  of  Piedmont,  whom  a great  seigneur  would  have.  . . . 
The  captain  and  the  ensign  were  taken  alive,  but  soon  after- 
ward hanged  and  strangled  on  the  battlements  of  the  gate  of 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


11 


the  city,  to  give  example  and  fear  to  the  Emperor’s  soldiers, 
not  to  be  so  rash  and  mad  as  to  wish  to  hold  such  places 
against  so  great  an  army. 

The  soldiers  within  the  castle,  seeing  our  men  come  on 
them  with  great  fury,  did  all  they  could  to  defend  them- 
selves, and  killed  and  wounded  many  of  our  soldiers  with 
pikes,  arquebuses,  and  stones,  whereby  the  surgeons  had  all 
their  work  cut  out  for  them.  Now  I was  at  this  time  a 
fresh-water  soldier;  I had  not  yet  seen  wounds  made  by 
gunshot  at  the  first  dressing.  It  is  true  I had  read  in 
John  de  Vigo,  first  book,  Of  Wounds  in  General,  eighth 
chapter,  that  wounds  made  by  firearms  partake  of  vene- 
nosity,  by  reason  of  the  powder;  and  for  their  cure  he  bids 
you  cauterise  them  with  oil  of  elders  scalding  hot,  mixed 
with  a little  treacle.  And  to  make  no  mistake,  before  I 
would  use  the  said  oil,  knowing  this  was  to  bring  great 
pain  to  the  patient,  I asked  first  before  I applied  it,  what 
the  other  surgeons  did  for  the  first  dressing;  which  was  to 
put  the  said  oil,  boiling  well,  into  the  wounds,  with  tents  and 
setons;  wherefore  I took  courage  to  do  as  they  did.  At 
last  my  oil  ran  short,  and  I was  forced  instead  thereof  to 
apply  a digestive  made  of  the  yolks  of  eggs,  oil  of  roses, 
and  turpentine.  In  the  night  I could  not  sleep  in  quiet, 
fearing  some  default  in  not  cauterising,  that  I should  find 
the  wounded  to  whom  I had  not  used  the  said  oil  dead  from 
the  poison  of  their  wounds;  which  made  me  rise  very  early 
to  visit  them,  where  beyond  my  expectation  I found  that 
those  to  whom  I had  applied  my  digestive  medicament  had 
but  little  pain,  and  their  wounds  without  inflammation  or 
swelling,  having  rested  fairly  well  that  night;  the  others,  to 
whom  the  boiling  oil  was  used,  I found  feverish,  with  great 
pain  and  swelling  about  the  edges  of  their  wounds.  Then 
I resolved  never  more  to  burn  thus  cruelly  poor  men  with 
gunshot  wounds. 

While  I was  at  Turin,  I found  a surgeon  famed  above  all 
others  for  his  treatment  of  gunshot  wounds ; into  whose 
favour  I found  means  to  insinuate  myself,  to  have  the  recipe 
of  his  balm,  as  he  called  it,  wherewith  he  dressed  gunshot 
wounds.  And  he  made  me  pay  my  court  to  him  for  two 
years,  before  I could  possibly  draw  the  recipe  from  him. 


12 


AMBROISE  PARE 


In  the  end,  thanks  to  my  gifts  and  presents,  he  gave  it  to 
me ; which  was  to  boil,  in  oil  of  lilies,  young  whelps  just 
born,  and  earth-worms  prepared  with  Venetian  turpentine. 
Then  I was  joyful,  and  my  heart  made  glad,  that  I had 
understood  his  remedy,  which  was  like  that  which  I had  ob- 
tained by  chance. 

See  how  I learned  to  treat  gunshot  wounds ; not  by  books. 

My  Lord  Marshal  Montejan  remained  Lieutenant-General 
for  the  King  in  Piedmont,  having  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
men  in  garrison  in  the  different  cities  and  castles,  who  were 
often  fighting  among  themselves  with  swords  and  other 
weapons,  even  with  arquebuses.  And  if  there  were  four 
wounded,  I always  had  three  of  them ; and  if  there  were 
question  of  cutting  off  an  arm  or  a leg,  or  of  trepanning, 
or  of  reducing  a fracture  or  a dislocation,  I accomplished 
it  all.  The  Lord  Marshal  sent  me  now  here  now  there  to 
dress  the  soldiers  committed  to  me  who  were  wounded  in 
other  cities  beside  Turin,  so  that  I was  always  in  the  coun- 
try, one  way  or  the  other. 

M.  the  Marshal  sent  to  Milan,  to  a physician  of  no  less 
reputation  than  the  late  M.  le  Grand  for  his  success  in 
practice,  to  treat  him  for  an  hepatic  flux,  whereof  in  the 
end  he  died.  This  physician  was  some  while  at  Turin  to 
treat  him,  and  was  often  called  to  visit  the  wounded,  where 
always  he  found  me;  and  I was  used  to  consult  with  him, 
and  with  some  other  surgeons ; and  when  we  had  resolved 
to  do  any  serious  work  of  surgery,  it  was  Ambroise  Pare 
that  put  his  hand  thereto,  which  I would  do  promptly  and 
skilfully,  and  with  great  assurance,  insomuch  that  the  physi- 
cian wondered  at  me,  to  be  so  ready  in  the  operations  of 
surgery,  and  I so  young.  One  day,  discoursing  with  the 
Lord  Marshal,  he  said  to  him: 

“ Signor,  tu  hai  un  Chirurgico  giovane  di  anni,  ma  egli  e 
vecchio  di  sapere  e di  esperientia:  Guardato  bene,  perche 
egli  ti  fara  servicio  et  honore.”  That  is  to  say,  “ Thou  hast 
a surgeon  young  in  age,  but  he  is  old  in  knowledge  and 
experience : take  good  care  of  him,  for  he  will  do  thee 
service  and  honour.”  But  the  good  man  did  not  know  I 
had  lived  three  years  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  in  Paris,  with  the 
patients  there. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


13 


In  the  end,  M.  the  Marshal  died  of  his  hepatic  flux.  He 
being  dead,  the  King  sent  M.  the  Marshal  d'Annebaut  to 
be  in  his  place : who  did  me  the  honour  to  ask  me  to  live 
with  him,  and  he  would  treat  me  as  well  or  better  than 
M.  the  Marshal  de  Montejan.  Which  I would  not  do,  for 
grief  at  the  loss  of  my  master,  who  loved  me  dearly;  so 
I returned  to  Paris. 

The  Journey  to  Marolle  and  Low  Brittany.  1543 

I went  to  the  Camp  of  Marolle,  with  the  late  M.  de  Rohan, 
as  surgeon  of  his  company;  where  was  the  King  himself. 
M.  d’Estampes,  Governor  of  Brittany,  had  told  the  King 
how  the  English  had  hoist  sail  to  land  in  Low  Brittany ; 
and  had  prayed  him  to  send,  to  help  him,  MM.  de  Rohan 
and  de  Laval,  because  they  were  the  seigneurs  of  that 
country,  and  by  their  help  the  country  people  would  beat 
back  the  enemy,  and  keep  them  from  landing.  Having 
heard  this,  the  King  sent  these  seigneurs  to  go  in  haste  to 
the  help  of  their  country ; and  to  each  was  given  as  much 
power  as  to  the  Governor,  so  that  they  were  all  three  the 
King’s  Lieutenants.  They  willingly  took  this  charge  upon 
them,  and  went  off  posting  with  good  speed,  and  took  me 
with  them  as  far  as  Landreneau.  There  we  found  every 
one  in  arms,  the  tocsin  sounding  on  every  side,  for  a good 
five  or  six  leagues  round  the  harbours,  Brest,  Couquet, 
Crozon,  le  Fou,  Doulac,  Laudanec;  each  well  furnished  with 
artillery,  as  cannons,  demi-cannons,  culverins,  muskets, 
falcons,  arquebuses;  in  brief,  all  who  came  together  were 
well  equipped  with  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  artillery,  and  with 
many  soldiers,  both  Breton  and  French,  to  hinder  the  En- 
glish from  landing  as  they  had  resolved  at  their  parting 
from  England. 

The  enemy’s  army  came  right  under  our  cannons:  and 
when  we  perceived  them  desiring  to  land,  we  saluted  them 
with  cannon-shot,  and  unmasked  our  forces  and  our  artillery. 
They  fled  to  sea  again.  I was  right  glad  to  see  their  ships 
set  sail,  which  were  in  good  number  and  good  order,  and 
seemed  to  be  a forest  moving  upon  the  sea.  I saw  a thing 
also  whereat  I marvelled  much,  which  was,  that  the  balls 


14 


AMBROISE  PARE 


of  the  great  cannons  made  long  rebounds,  and  grazed  over 
the  water  as  they  do  over  the  earth.  Now  to  make  the 
matter  short,  our  English  did  us  no  harm,  and  returned  safe 
and  sound  into  England.  And  they  leaving  us  in  peace,  we 
stayed  in  that  country  in  garrison  until  we  were  assured  that 
their  army  was  dispersed. 

Now  our  soldiers  used  often  to  exercise  themselves  with 
running  at  the  ring,  or  with  fencing,  so  that  there  was 
always  some  one  in  trouble,  and  I had  always  something 
to  employ  me.  M.  d’Estampes,  to  make  pastime  and  pleasure 
for  the  Seigneurs  de  Rohan  and  de  Laval,  and  other  gen- 
tlemen, got  a number  of  village  girls  to  come  to  the  sports, 
to  sing  songs  in  the  tongue  of  Low  Brittany:  wherein  their 
harmony  was  like  the  croaking  of  frogs  when  they  are  in 
love.  Moreover,  he  made  them  dance  the  Brittany  triori, 
without  moving  feet  or  hips:  he  made  the  gentlemen  see 
and  hear  many  good  things. 

At  other  times  they  made  the  wrestlers  of  the  towns  and 
villages  come,  where  there  was  a prize  for  the  best:  and 
the  sport  was  not  ended  but  that  one  or  other  had  a leg  or 
arm  broken,  or  the  shoulder  or  hip  dislocated. 

There  was  a little  man  of  Low  Brittany,  of  a square  body 
and  well  set,  who  long  held  the  credit  of  the  field,  and  by 
his  skill  and  strength  threw  five  or  six  to  the  ground.  There 
came  against  him  a big  man,  one  Dativo,  a pedagogue,  who 
was  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  wrestlers  in  all  Brittany: 
he  entered  into  the  lists,  having  thrown  off  his  long  jacket, 
in  hose  and  doublet:  when  he  was  near  the  little  man,  it 
looked  as  though  the  little  man  had  been  tied  to  his  girdle. 
Nevertheless,  when  they  gripped  each  other  round  the  neck, 
they  were  a long  time  without  doing  anything,  and  we 
thought  they  would  remain  equal  in  force  and  skill : but  the 
little  man  suddenly  leaped  beneath  this  big  Dativo,  and  took 
him  on  his  shoulder,  and  threw  him  to  earth  on  his  back  all 
spread  out  like  a frog;  and  all  the  company  laughed  at  the 
skill  and  strength  of  the  little  fellow.  The  great  Dativo  was 
furious  to  have  been  thus  thrown  to  earth  by  so  small  a 
man : he  rose  again  in  a rage,  and  would  have  his  revenge. 
They  took  hold  again  round  the  neck,  and  were  again  a 
good  while  at  their  hold  without  falling  to  the  ground:  but 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


15 


at  last  the  big  man  let  himself  fall  upon  the  little,  and  in 
falling  put  his  elbow  upon  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  and  burst 
his  heart,  and  killed  him  stark  dead.  And  knowing  he  had 
given  him  his  death’s  blow,  took  again  his  long  cassock,  and 
went  away  with  his  tail  between  his  legs,  and  eclipsed  him- 
self. Seeing  the  little  man  came  not  again  to  himself,  either 
for  wine,  vinegar,  or  any  other  thing  presented  to  him,  I 
drew  near  to  him  and  felt  his  pulse,  which  did  not  beat  at 
all : then  I said  he  was  dead.  Then  the  Bretons,  who  were 
assisting  at  the  wrestling,  said  aloud  in  their  jargon, 
“ Andraze  meuraquet  enes  rac  un  bloa  so  abeuduex  henelep 
e barz  an  gouremon  enel  ma  hoa  engoustun.”  That  is  to 
say,  “ That  is  not  in  the  sport.”  And  someone  said  that  this 
great  Dativo  was  accustomed  to  do  so,  and  but  a year  past 
he  had  done  the  same  at  a wrestling.  I must  needs  open 
the  body  to  know  the  cause  of  this  sudden  death.  I found 
much  blood  in  the  thorax  ...  I tried  to  find  some  internal 
opening  whence  it  might  have  come,  which  I could  not,  for 
all  the  diligence  that  I could  use.  . . . The  poor  little 
wrestler  was  buried.  I took  leave  of  MM.  de  Rohan,  de 
Laval,  and  d’Estampes.  M.  de  Rohan  made  me  a present  of 
fifty  double  ducats  and  a horse,  M.  de  Laval  gave  me  a nag 
for  my  man,  and  M.  d’Estampes  gave  me  a diamond  worth 
thirty  crowns:  and  I returned  to  my  house  in  Paris. 

The  Journey  to  Perpignan.  1543 

Some  while  after,  M.  de  Rohan  took  me  with  him  posting 
to  the  camp  at  Perpignan.  While  we  were  there,  the  enemy 
sallied  out,  and  surrounded  three  pieces  of  our  artillery  be- 
fore they  were  beaten  back  to  the  gates  of  the  city.  Which 
was  not  done  without  many  killed  and  wounded,  among  the 
others  M.  de  Brissac,  who  was  then  grand  master  of  the 
artillery,  with  an  arquebus-shot  in  the  shoulder.  When  he 
retired  to  his  tent,  all  the  wounded  followed  him,  hoping  to 
be  dressed  by  the  surgeons  who  were  to  dress  him.  Being 
come  to  his  tent  and  laid  on  his  bed,  the  bullet  was  searched 
for  by  three  or  four  of  the  best  surgeons  in  the  army,  who 
could  not  find  it,  but  said  it  had  entered  into  his  body. 

At  Inst  he  called  for  me.  to  see  if  I could  be  more  skilful 


16 


AMBROISE  PARE 


than  they,  because  he  had  known  me  in  Piedmont.  Then  I 
made  him  rise  from  his  bed,  and  told  him  to  put  himself  in 
the  same  posture  that  he  had  when  he  was  wounded,  which 
he  did,  taking  a javelin  in  his  hand  just  as  he  had  held  his 
pike  to  fight.  I put  my  hand  around  the  wound,  and  found 
the  bullet.  . . . Having  found  it,  I showed  them  the  place 
where  it  was,  and  it  was  taken  out  by  M.  Nicole  Lavernot, 
surgeon  of  M.  the  Dauphin,  who  was  the  King’s  Lieutenant 
in  that  army;  all  the  same,  the  honour  of  finding  it  belonged 
to  me. 

I saw  one  very  strange  thing,  which  was  this:  a soldier 
in  my  presence  gave  one  of  his  fellows  a blow  on  the  head 
with  a halbard,  penetrating  to  the  left  ventricle  of  the  brain ; 
yet  the  man  did  not  fall  to  the  ground.  He  that  struck 
him  said  he  heard  that  he  had  cheated  at  dice,  and  he  had 
drawn  a large  sum  of  money  from  him,  and  was  accustomed 
to  cheat.  They  called  me  to  dress  him;  which  I did,  as  it 
were  for  the  last  time,  knowing  that  he  would  die  soon. 
When  I had  dressed  him,  he  returned  all  alone  to  his  quar- 
ters, which  were  at  the  least  two  hundred  paces  away.  I 
bade  one  of  his  companions  send  for  a priest  to  dispose  the 
affairs  of  his  soul;  he  got  one  for  him,  who  stayed  with  him 
to  his  last  breath.  The  next  day,  the  patient  sent  for  me 
by  his  girl,  dressed  in  boy’s  apparel,  to  come  and  dress  him ; 
which  I would  not,  fearing  he  would  die  under  my  hands ; 
and  to  be  rid  of  the  matter  I told  her  the  dressing  must  not 
be  removed  before  the  third  day.  But  in  truth  he  was  sure 
to  die,  though  he  were  never  touched  again.  The  third  day, 
he  came  staggering  to  find  me  in  my  tent,  and  the  girl  with 
him,  and  prayed  me  most  affectionately  to  dress  him,  and 
showed  me  a purse  wherein  might  be  an  hundred  or  sixscore 
pieces  of  gold,  and  said  he  would  give  me  my  heart’s  desire; 
nevertheless,  for  all  that,  I put  off  the  removal  of  the  dress- 
ing, fearing  lest  he  should  die  then  and  there.  Certain  gen- 
tlemen desired  me  to  go  and  dress  him;  which  I did  at 
their  request;  but  in  dressing  him  he  died  under  my  hands 
in  a convulsion.  The  priest  stayed  with  him  till  death,  and 
seized  his  purse,  for  fear  another  man  should  take  it,  saying 
he  would  say  masses  for  his  poor  soul.  Also  he  took  his 
clothes,  and  everything  else. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


17 


I have  told  this  case  for  the  wonder  of  it,  that  the  soldier, 
having  received  this  great  blow,  did  not  fall  down,  and  kept 
his  reason  to  the  end. 

Not  long  afterward,  the  camp  was  broken  up  from  diverse 
causes:  one,  because  we  were  told  that  four  companies  of 
Spaniards  were  entered  into  Perpignan:  the  other,  that  the 
plague  was  spreading  through  the  camp.  Moreover,  the 
country  folk  warned  us  there  would  soon  be  a great  over- 
flowing of  the  sea,  which  might  drown  us  all.  And  the  pres- 
age which  they  had,  was  a very  great  wind  from  sea,  which 
rose  so  high  that  there  remained  not  a single  tent  but  was 
broken  and  thrown  down,  for  all  the  care  and  diligence  we 
could  give;  and  the  kitchens  being  all  uncovered,  the  wind 
raised  the  dust  and  sand,  which  salted  and  powdered  our 
meats  in  such  fashion  that  we  could  not  eat  them ; and  we 
had  to  cook  them  in  pots  and  other  covered  vessels.  Nor 
was  the  camp  so  quickly  moved  but  that  many  carts  and 
carters,  mules  and  mule  drivers,  were  drowned  in  the  sea, 
with  great  loss  of  baggage. 

When  the  camp  was  moved  I returned  to  Paris. 

The  Journey  to  Landresy.  1544 

The  King  raised  a great  army  to  victual  Landresy. 
Against  him  the  Emperor  had  no  fewer  men,  but  many  more, 
to  wit,  eighteen  thousand  Germans,  ten  thousand  Spaniards, 
six  thousand  Walloons,  ten  thousand  English,  and  from 
thirteen  to  fourteen  thousand  horse.  I saw  the  two  armies 
near  each  other,  within  cannon-shot;  and  we  thought  they 
could  not  withdraw  without  giving  battle.  There  were  some 
foolish  gentlemen  who  must  needs  approach  the  enemy’s 
camp ; the  enemy  fired  on  them  with  light  field  pieces ; some 
died  then  and  there,  others  had  their  arms  or  legs  carried 
away.  The  King  having  done  what  he  wished,  which  was 
to  victual  Landresy,  withdrew  his  army  to  Guise,  which  was 
the  day  after  All  Saints,  1544;  and  from  there  I returned  to 
Paris. 


18 


AMBROISE  PARE 


The  Journey  to  Boulogne.  1545 

A little  while  after,  we  went  to  Boulogne ; where  the  En- 
glish, seeing  our  army,  left  the  forts  which  they  were  hold- 
ing, Moulambert,  le  petit  Paradis,  Monplaisir,  the  fort  of 
Chastillon,  le  Portet,  the  fort  of  Dardelot.  One  day,  as  I 
was  going  through  the  camp  to  dress  my  wounded  men,  the 
enemy  who  were  in  the  Tour  d’  Ordre  fired  a cannon  against 
us,  thinking  to  kill  two  men-at-arms  who  had  stopped  to  talk 
together.  It  happened  that  the  ball  passed  quite  close  to  one 
of  them,  which  threw  him  to  the  ground,  and  it  was  thought 
the  ball  had  touched  him,  which  it  did  not ; but  only  the  wind 
of  the  ball  full  against  his  corselet,  with  such  force  that  all 
the  outer  part  of  his  thigh  became  livid  and  black,  and  he 
could  hardly  stand.  I dressed  him,  and  made  diverse  scarifi- 
cations to  let  out  the  bruised  blood  made  by  the  wind  of 
the  ball ; and  by  the  rebounds  that  it  made  on  the  ground 
it  killed  four  soldiers,  who  remained  dead  where  they  fell. 

I was  not  far  from  this  shot,  so  that  I could  just  feel  the 
moved  air,  without  its  doing  me  any  harm  save  a fright, 
which  made  me  duck  my  head  low  enough ; but  the  ball 
was  already  far  away.  The  soldiers  laughed  at  me,  to  be 
afraid  of  a ball  which  had  already  passed.  Mon  petit  maistre, 
I think  if  you  had  been  there,  I should  not  have  been  afraid 
all  alone,  and  you  would  have  had  your  share  of  it. 

Monseigneur  the  Due  de  Guise,  Franqois  de  Lorraine,  was 
wounded  before  Boulogne  with  a thrust  of  a lance,  which 
entered  above  the  right  eye,  toward  the  nose,  and  passed 
out  on  the  other  side  between  the  ear  and  the  back  of  the 
neck,  with  so  great  violence  that  the  head  of  the  lance,  with 
a piece  of  the  wood,  was  broken  and  remained  fast;  so  that 
it  could  pot  be  drawn  out  save  with  extreme  force,  with 
smith’s  pincers.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  great  violence  of 
the  blow,  which  was  not  without  fracture  of  bones,  nerves, 
veins,  and  arteries,  and  other  parts  torn  and  broken,  my 
lord,  by  the  grace  of  God,  was  healed.  He  was  used  to  go 
into  battle  always  with  his  vizard  raised:  that  is  why  the 
lance  passed  right  out  on  the  other  side. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


19 


The  Journey  to  Germany.  1552 

I went  to  Germany,  in  the  year  1552,  with  M.  de  Rohan, 
captain  of  fifty  men-at-arms,  where  I was  surgeon  of  his 
company,  as  I have  said  before.  On  this  expedition,  M.  the 
Constable  was  general  of  the  army;  M.  de  Chastillon,  after- 
ward the  Admiral,  was  chief  colonel  of  the  infantry,  with 
four  regiments  of  lansquenets  under  Captains  Recrod  and 
Ringrave,  two  under  each ; and  every  regiment  was  of  ten 
ensigns,  and  every  ensign  of  five  hundred  men.  And  beside 
these  were  Captain  Chartel,  who  led  the  troops  that  the 
Protestant  princes  had  sent  to  the  King  (this  infantry  was 
very  fine,  and  was  accompanied  by  fifteen  hundred  men-at- 
arms,  with  a following  of  two  archers  apiece,  which  would 
make  four  thousand  five  hundred  horse)  ; and  two  thousand 
light  horse,  and  as  many  mounted  arquebusiers,  of  whom 
M.  d’Aumalle  was  general;  and  a great  number  of  the  no- 
bility, who  were  come  there  for  their  pleasure.  Moreover, 
the  King  was  accompanied  by  two  hundred  gentlemen  of 
his  household,  under  the  command  of  the  Seigneurs  de  Boisy 
and  de  Canappe,  and  by  many  other  princes.  For  his 
following,  to  escort  him,  there  were  the  French  and  Scotch 
and  Swiss  guards,  amounting  to  six  hundred  foot  soldiers; 
and  the  companies  of  MM.  the  Dauphin,  de  (Guise,  d’Aumalle, 
and  Marshal  Saint  Andre,  amounting  to  four  hundred 
lances;  which  was  a marvellous  thing,  to  see  such  a multi- 
tude ; and  with  this  equipage  the  King  entered  into  Toul 
and  Metz. 

I must  not  omit  to  say  that  the  companies  of  MM.  de 
Rohan,  the  Comte  de  Sancerre,  and  de  Jarnac,  which  were 
each  of  them  of  fifty  horse,  went  upon  the  wings  of  the 
camp.  And  God  knows  how  scarce  we  were  of  victuals,  and 
I protest  before  Ftim  that  at  three  diverse  times  I thought 
to  die  of  hunger;  and  it  was  not  for  want  of  money,  for  I 
had  enough  of  it;  but  we  could  not  get  victuals  save  by 
force,  because  the  country  people  collected  them  all  into 
the  towns  and  castles. 

One  of  the  servants  of  the  captain-ensign  of  the  company 
of  M.  de  Rohan  went  with  others  to  enter  a church  where 
the  peasants  were  retreated,  thinking  to  get  victuals  by 


20 


AMBROISE  PARE 


love  or  by  force;  but  he  got  the  worst  of  it,  as  they  all  did, 
and  came  back  with  seven  sword-wounds  on  the  head,  the 
least  of  which  penetrated  to  the  inner  table  of  the  skull; 
and  he  had  four  other  wounds  upon  the  arms,  and  one  on 
the  right  shoulder,  which  cut  more  than  half  of  the  blade- 
bone.  He  was  brought  back  to  his  master’s  lodging,  who 
seeing  him  so  mutilated,  and  not  hoping  he  could  be  cured, 
made  him  a grave,  and  would  have  cast  him  therein,  saying 
that  else  the  peasants  would  massacre  and  kill  him.  I in 
pity  told  him  the  man  might  still  be  cured  if  he  were  well 
dressed.  Diverse  gentlemen  of  the  company  prayed  he 
would  take  him  along  with  the  baggage,  since  I was  willing 
to  dress  him ; to  which  he  agreed,  and  after  I had  got  the 
man  ready,  he  was  put  in  a cart,  on  a bed  well  covered  and 
well  arranged,  drawn  by  a horse.  I did  him  the  office  of 
physician,  apothecary,  surgeon,  and  cook.  I dressed  him  to 
the  end  of  his  case,  and  God  healed  him ; insomuch  that  all 
the  three  companies  marvelled  at  this  cure.  The  men-at- 
arms  of  the  company  of  M.  de  Rohan,  the  first  muster  that 
was  made,  gave  me  each  a crown,  and  the  archers  half  a 
crown. 


The  Journey  to  Danvilliers.  1552 

On  his  return  from  the  expedition  against  the  German 
camp,  King  Henry  besieged  Danvilliers,  and  those  within 
would  not  surrender.  They  got  the  worst  of  it,  but  our 
powder  failed  us;  so  they  had  a good  shot  at  our  men. 
There  was  a culverin-shot  passed  through  the  tent  of  M.  de 
Rohan,  which  hit  a gentleman’s  leg  who  was  of  his  house- 
hold. I had  to  finish  the  cutting  off  of  it,  which  I did  with- 
out applying  the  hot  irons. 

The  King  sent  for  powder  to  Sedan,  and  when  it  came 
we  began  the  attack  more  vigorously  than  before,  so  that  a 
breach  was  made.  MM.  de  Guise  and  the  Constable,  being 
in  the  King’s  chamber,  told  him,  and  they  agreed  that  next 
day  they  would  assault  the  town,  and  were  confident  they 
would  enter  into  it;  and  it  must  be  kept  secret,  for  fear  the 
enemy  should  come  to  hear  of  it;  and  each  promised  not  to 
speak  of  it  to  any  man.  Now  there  was  a groom  of  the 
King’s  chamber,  who  being  laid  under  the  King’s  camp- 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


21 


bed  to  sleep,  heard  they  were  resolved  to  attack  the  town 
next  day.  So  he  told  the  secret  to  a certain  captain,  say- 
ing that  they  would  make  the  attack  next  day  for  certain, 
and  he  had  heard  it  from  the  King,  and  prayed  the  said 
captain  to  speak  of  it  to  no  man,  which  he  promised;  but 
his  promise  did  not  hold,  and  forthwith  he  disclosed  it  to 
a captain,  and  this  captain  to  a captain,  and  the  captains  to 
some  of  the  soldiers,  saying  always,  “Say  nothing.”  And  it 
was  just  so  much  hid,  that  next  day  early  in  the  morning 
there  was  seen  the  greater  part  of  the  soldiers  with  their 
boots  and  breeches  cut  loose  at  the  knee  for  the  better 
mounting  of  the  breach.  The  King  was  told  of  this  rumour 
that  ran  through  the  camp,  that  the  attack  was  to  be  made ; 
whereat  he  was  astonished,  seeing  there  were  but  three  in 
that  advice,  who  had  promised  each  other  to  tell  it  to  no 
man.  The  King  sent  for  M.  de  , Guise,  to  know  if  he  had 
spoken  of  this  attack ; he  swore  and  affirmed  to  him  he  had 
not  told  it  to  anybody ; and  M.  the  Constable  said  the  same, 
and  told  the  King  they  must  know  for  certain  who  had  de- 
clared this  secret  counsel,  seeing  they  were  but  three.  In- 
quiry was  made  from  captain  to  captain.  In  the  end  they 
found  the  truth;  for  one  said,  “ It  was  such  an  one  told  me,” 
and  another  said  the  same,  till  it  came  to  the  first  of  all, 
who  declared  he  had  heard  it  from  the  groom  of  the  King’s 
chamber,  called  Guyard,  a native  of  Blois,  son  of  a barber 
of  the  late  King  Francis.  The  King  sent  for  him  into  his' 
tent,  in  the  presence  of  MM.  de  Guise  and  the  Constable, 
to  hear  from  him  whence  he  had  his  knowledge,  and  who 
had  told  him  the  attack  was  to  be  made ; and  said  if  he  did 
not  speak  the  truth  he  would  have  him  hanged.  Then  he 
declared  he  lay  down  under  the  King’s  bed  thinking  to  sleep, 
and  so  having  heard  the  plan  he  revealed  it  to  a captain 
who  was  a friend  of  his,  to  the  end  he  might  prepare  himself 
with  his  soldiers  to  be  the  first  at  the  attack.  Then  the  King 
knew  the  truth,  and  told  him  he  should  never  serve  him 
again,  and  that  he  deserved  to  be  hanged,  and  forbade  him 
ever  to  come  again  to  the  Court. 

The  groom  of  the  chamber  went  away  with  this  to 
swallow,  and  slept  that  night  with  a surgeon-in-ordinary  of 
the  King,  Master  Louis  of  Saint  Andre;  and  in  the  night  he 


22 


AMBROISE  PARE 


gave  himself  six  stabs  with  a knife,  and  cut  his  throat. 
Nor  did  the  surgeon  perceive  it  till  the  morning,  when  he 
found  his  bed  all  bloody,  and  the  dead  body  by  him.  He 
marvelled  at  this  sight  on  his  awaking,  and  feared  they 
would  say  he  was  the  cause  of  the  murder;  but  he  was 
soon  relieved,  seeing  the  reason,  which  was  despair  at  the 
loss  of  the  good  friendship  of  the  King. 

So  Guyard  was  buried.  And  those  of  Danvilliers,  when 
they  saw  the  breach  large  enough  for  us  to  enter,  and  our  sol- 
diers ready  to  assault  them,  surrendered  themselves  to  the 
mercy  of  the  King.  Their  leaders  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  their  soldiers  were  sent  away  without  arms. 

The  camp  being  dispersed,  I returned  to  Paris  with  my 
gentleman  whose  leg  I had  cut  off ; I dressed  him,  and  God 
healed  him.  I sent  him  to  his  house  merry  with  a wooden 
leg;  and  he  was  content,  saying  he  had  got  off  cheap,  not  to 
have  been  miserably  burned  to  stop  the  blood,  as  you  write 
in  your  book,  mon  petit  maistre. 

The  Journey  to  Chateau  le  Comte.  1552 

Some  time  after,  King  Henry  raised  an  army  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  to  go  and  lay  waste  the  country  about 
Hesdin.  The  King  of  Navarre,  who  was  then  called  M. 
de  Vendosme,  was  chief  of  the  army,  and  the  King’s  Lieu- 
tenant. Being  at  St.  Denis,  in  France,  waiting  while  the 
companies  passed  by,  he  sent  to  Paris  for  me  to  speak  with 
him.  When  I came  he  begged  me  (and  his  request  was  a 
command)  to  follow  him  on  this  journey;  and  I,  wishing 
to  make  my  excuses,  saying  my  wife  was  sick  in  bed,  he 
made  answer  there  were  physicians  in  Paris  to  cure  her, 
and  he,  too,  had  left  his  wife,  who  was  of  as  good  a house 
as  mine,  and  he  said  he  would  use  me  well,  and  forthwith 
ordered  I should  be  attached  to  his  household.  Seeing 
this  great  desire  he  had  to  take  me  with  him,  I dared  not 
refuse  him. 

I went  after  him  to  Chateau  le  Comte,  within  three  or 
four  leagues  of  Hesdin.  The  Emperor’s  soldiers  were  in 
garrison  there,  with  a number  of  peasants  from  the  coun- 
try road.  M.  de  Vendosme  called  on  them  to  surrender; 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


23 


they  made  answer  that  he  should  never  take  them,  unless  it 
were  piecemeal ; let  him  do  his  worst,  and  they  would  do 
their  best  to  defend  themselves.  They  trusted  in  their  moats, 
which  were  full  of  water;  but  in  two  hours,  with  plenty  of 
faggots  and  casks,  we  made  a way  for  our  infantry  to  pass 
over,  when  they  had  to  advance  to  the  assault;  and  the  place 
was  attacked  with  five  cannons,  and  a breach  was  made 
large  enough  for  our  men  to  enter;  where  those  within 
received  the  attack  very  valiantly,  and  killed  and  wounded  a 
great  number  of  our  men  with  arquebuses,  pikes,  and  stones. 
In  the  end,  when  they  saw  themselves  overpowered,  they 
set  fire  to  their  powder  and  ammunition,  whereby  many  of 
our  men  were  burned,  and  some  of  their  own.  And  they 
were  almost  all  put  to  the  sword;  but  some  of  our  soldiers 
had  taken  twenty  or  thirty,  hoping  to  have  ransom  for 
them : and  so  soon  as  this  was  known,  orders  were  given  to 
proclaim  by  trumpet  through  the  camp,  that  all  soldiers  who 
had  Spaniards  for  prisoners  must  kill  them,  on  pain  of 
being  themselves  hanged  and  strangled : which  was  done  in 
cold  blood. 

Thence  we  went  and  burned  several  villages ; and  the 
barns  were  all  full  of  grain,  to  my  very  great  regret.  We 
came  as  far  as  Tournahan,  where  there  was  a large  tower, 
whither  the  enemy  withdrew,  but  we  found  the  place  empty: 
our  men  sacked  it,  and  blew  up  the  tower  with  a mine  of 
gunpowder,  which  turned  it  upside  down.  After  that,  the 
camp  was  dispersed,  and  I returned  to  Paris.  And  the  day 
after  Chateau  le  Comte  was  taken,  M.  de  Vendosme  sent  a 
gentleman  under  orders  to  the  King,  to  report  to  him  all 
that  had  happened,  and  among  other  things  he  told  the 
King  I had  done  very  good  work  dressing  the  wounded,  and 
had  showed  him  eighteen  bullets  that  I had  taken  out  of 
their  bodies,  and  there  -were  many  more  that  I had  not  been 
able  to  find  or  take  out;  and  he  spoke  more  good  of  me 
than  there  was  by  half.  Then  the  King  said  he  would  take 
me  into  his  service,  and  commnaded  M.  de  ,Goguier,  his 
first  physician,  to  write  me  down  in  the  King’s  service  as 
one  of  his  surgeons-in-ordinary,  and  I was  to  meet  him  at 
Rheims  within  ten  or  twelve  days:  which  I did.  And  the 
King  did  me  the  honour  to  command  me  to  live  near  him, 


24 


AMBROISE  PARE 


and  he  would  be  a good  friend  to  me.  Then  I thanked 
him  most  humbly  for  the  honour  he  was  pleased  to  do  me,  in 
appointing  me  to  serve  him. 

The  Journey  to  Metz.  1552 

The  Emperor  having  besieged  Metz  with  more  than  an 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men,  and  in  the  hardest  time 
of  winter, — it  is  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all — and  there 
were  five  or  six  thousand  men  in  the  town,  and  among  them 
seven  princes ; MM.  le  Due  de  Guise,  the  King’s  Lieutenant, 
d’Enghien,  de  Conde,  de  la  Montpensier,  de  la  Roche-sur- 
Yon,  de  Nemours,  and  many  other  gentlemen,  with  a num- 
ber of  veteran  captains  and  officers : who  often  sallied  out 
against  the  enemy  (as  I shall  tell  hereafter),  not  without 
heavy  loss  on  both  sides.  Our  wounded  died  almost  all, 
and  it  was  thought  the  drugs  wherewith  they  were  dressed 
had  been  poisoned.  Wherefore  M.  de  Guise,  and  MM.  the 
princes,  went  so  far  as  to  beg  the  King  that  if  it  were  pos- 
sible I should  be  sent  to  them  with  a supply  of  drugs,  and 
they  believed  their  drugs  were  poisoned,  seeing  that  few 
of  their  wounded  escaped.  My  belief  is  that  there  was  no 
poison ; but  the  severe  cutlass  and  arquebus  wounds,  and 
the  extreme  cold,  were  the  cause  why  so  man}'-  died.  The 
King  wrote  to  M.  the  Marshal  de  Saint  Andre,  who  was 
his  Lieutenant  at  Verdun,  to  find  means  to  get  me  into  Metz, 
whatever  way  was  possible.  MM.  the  Marshal  de  Saint 
Andre,  and  the  Marshal  de  Vielleville,  won  over  an  Italian 
captain,  who  promised  to  get  me  into  the  place,  which  he 
did  (and  for  this  he  had  fifteen  hundred  crowns).  The 
King  having  heard  the  promise  that  the  Italian  captain  had 
made,  sent  for  me,  and  commanded  me  to  take  of  his  apothe- 
cary, named  Daigne,  so  many  and  such  drugs  as  I should 
, think  necessary  for  the  wounded  within  the  town;  which  I 
did,  as  much  as  a post-horse  could  carry.  The  King  gave 
me  messages  to  M.  de  Guise,  and  to  the  princes  and  the  cap- 
tains that  were  in  Metz. 

When  I came  to  Verdun,  some  days  after,  M.  the  Marshal 
de  Saint  Andre  got  horses  for  me  and  for  my  man,  and  for 
the  Italian  captain,  who  spoke  excellent  German,  Spanish, 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


25 


and  Walloon,  beside  his  own  mother-tongue.  When  we  were 
within  eight  or  ten  leagues  of  Metz,  we  began  to  go  by  night 
only ; and  when  we  came  near  the  enemy's  camp  I saw,  more 
than  a league  and  a half  off,  fires  lighted  all  round  the  town, 
as  if  the  whole  earth  were  burning;  and  I believed  we 
could  never  pass  through  these  fires  without  being  discovered, 
and  therefore  hanged  and  strangled,  or  cut  in  pieces,  or 
made  to  pay  a great  ransom.  To  speak  truth,  I could  well 
and  gladly  have  wished  myself  back  in  Paris,  for  the  great 
danger  that  I foresaw.  God  guided  our  business  so  well, 
that  we  entered  into  the  town  at  midnight,  thanks  to  a signal 
the  captain  had  with  another  captain  of  the  company  of  M. 
de  Guise ; to  whom  I went,  and  found  him  in  bed,  and  he 
received  me  with  high  favour,  being  right  glad  at  my  coming. 

I gave  him  my  message  as  the  King  had  commanded  me, 
and  told  him  I had  a little  letter  for  him,  and  the  next  day 
I would  not  fail  to  deliver  it.  Then  he  ordered  me  a good 
lodging,  and  that  I should  be  well  treated,  and  said  I must 
not  fail  next  morning  to  be  upon  the  breach,  where  I should 
find  all  the  princes  and  seigneurs,  and  many  captains. 
Which  I did,  and  they  received  me  with  great  joy,  and  did  me 
the  honour  to  embrace  me,  and  tell  me  I was  welcome ; add- 
ing they  would  no  more  be  afraid  of  dying,  if  they  should 
happen  to  be  wounded. 

M.  le  Prince  de  la  Roche-sur-Yon  was  the  first  who  en- 
tertained me,  and  inquired  what  they  were  saying  at  the 
Court  concerning  the  town  of  Metz.  I told  him  all  that  I 
chose  to  tell.  Forthwith  he  begged  me  to  go  and  see  one 
of  his  gentlemen  named  M.  de  Magnane,  now  Chevalier  of 
the  Order  of  the  King,  and  Lieutenant  of  His  Majesty’s 
Guards,  who  had  his  leg  broken  by  a cannon-shot.  I found 
him  in  bed,  his  leg  bent  and  crooked,  without  any  dressing 
on  it,  because  a gentleman  promised  to  cure  him,  having  his 
name  and  his  girdle,  with  certain  words  (and  the  poor 
patient  was  weeping  and  crying  out  with  pain,  not  sleeping 
day  or  night  for  four  days  past).  Then  I laughed  at  such 
cheating  and  false  promises ; and  I reduced  and  dressed 
his  leg  so  skilfully  that  he  was  without  pain,  and  slept  all 
the  night,  and  afterward,  thanks  be  to  God,  he  was  healed, 
and  is  still  living  now,  in  the  King’s  service.  The  Prince 


26 


AMBROISE  PARE 


de  la  Roche-sur-Yon  sent  me  a cask  of  wine,  bigger  than  a 
pipe  of  Anjou,  to  my  lodging,  and  told  me  when  it  was 
drunk,  he  would  send  me  another;  that  was  how  he  treated 
me,  most  generously. 

After  this,  M.  de  Guise  gave  me  a list  of  certain  captains 
and  seigneurs,  and  bade  me  tell  them  what  the  King  had 
charged  me  to  say;  which  I did,  and  this  was  to  commend 
him  to  them,  and  give  them  his  thanks  for  the  duty  they 
had  done  and  were  doing  in  holding  his  town  of  Metz,  and 
that  he  would  remember  it.  I was  more  than  eight  days 
acquitting  myself  of  this  charge,  because  they  were  many. 
First,  to  all  the  princes;  then  to  others,  as  the  Duke  Horace, 
the  Count  de  Martigues,  and  his  brother  M.  de  Bauge,  the 
Seigneurs  de  Montmorency  and  d’Anville,  now  Marshal  of 
France,  M.  de  la  Chapelle  aux  Ursins,  Bonnivet,  Carouge, 
now  Governor  of  Rouen,  the  Vidasme  de  Chartres,  the  Count 
de  Lude,  M.  de  Biron,  now  Marshal  of  France,  M.  de  Ran- 
dan, la  Rochefoucaut,  Bordaille,  d’  Estres  the  younger,  M. 
de  Saint  Jehan  en  Dauphine,  and  many  others  whom  it 
would  take  too  long  to  name ; and  also  to  many  captains,  who 
had  all  done  their  duty  well  for  the  defence  of  their  lives  and 
of  the  town.  Afterward  I asked  M.  de  Guise  what  it  pleased 
him  I should  do  with  the  drugs  I had  brought  with  me;  he 
bade  me  distribute  them  to  the  surgeons  and  apothecaries, 
and  principally  to  the  poor  wounded  soldiers,  who  were  in 
great  numbers  in  the  Hospital.  Which  I did,  and  can  truly 
say  I could  not  so  much  as  go  and  see  all  the  wounded,  who 
kept  sending  for  me  to  visit  and  dress  them. 

All  the  seigneurs  within  the  town  asked  me  to  give  special 
care,  above  all  the  rest,  to  M.  de  Pienne,  who  had  been 
wounded,  while  on  the  breach,  by  a stone  shot  from  a cannon, 
on  the  temple,  with  fracture  and  depression  of  the  bone. 
They  told  me  that  so  soon  as  he  received  the  blow,  he  fell 
to  the  ground  as  dead,  and  cast  forth  blood  by  the  mouth, 
nose,  and  ears,  with  great  vomiting,  and  was  fourteen  days 
without  being  able  to  speak  or  reason;  also  he  had  tremors 
of  a spasmodic  nature,  and  all  his  face  was  swelled  and  livid. 
He  was  trepanned  at  the  side  of  the  temporal  muscle,  over 
the  frontal  bone.  I dressed  him,  with  other  surgeons,  and 
God  healed  him;  and  to-day  he  is  still  living,  thank  God. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


27 


The  Emperor  attacked  the  town  with  forty  double  can- 
nons, and  the  powder  was  not  spared  day  or  night.  So  soon 
as  M.  de  Guise  saw  the  artillery  set  and  pointed  to  make 
a breach,  he  had  the  nearest  houses  pulled  down  and  made 
into  ramparts,  and  the  beams  and  joists  were  put  end  to 
end,  and  between  them  faggots,  earth,  beds,  and  wool-packs ; 
then  they  put  above  them  other  beams  and  joists  as  before. 
And  there  was  plenty  of  wood  from  the  houses  in  the 
suburbs ; which  had  been  razed  to  the  ground,  for  fear  the 
enemy  should  get  under  cover  of  them,  and  make  use  of 
the  wood;  it  did  very  well  for  repairing  the  breach.  Every- 
body was  hard  at  work  carrying  earth  to  repair  it,  day  and 
night;  MM.  the  princes,  the  seigneurs,  and  captains,  lieuten- 
ants, ensigns,  were  all  carrying  the  basket,  to  set  an  example 
to  the  soldiers  and  citizens  to  do  the  like,  which  they  did; 
even  the  ladies  and  girls,  and  those  who  had  not  baskets, 
made  use  of  cauldrons,  panniers,  sacks,  sheets,  and  all  such 
things  to  carry  the  earth;  so  that  the  enemy  had  no  sooner 
broken  down  the  wall  than  they  found  behind  it  a yet 
stronger  rampart.  The  wall  having  fallen,  our  men  cried 
out  at  those  outside,  “ Fox,  fox,  fox,”  and  they  vented  a 
thousand  insults  against  one  another.  M.  de  Guise  forbade 
any  man  on  pain  of  death  to  speak  with  those  outside,  for 
fear  there  should  be  some  traitor  who  would  betray  what  was 
being  done  within  the  town.  After  this  order,  our  men  tied 
live  cats  to  the  ends  of  their  pikes,  and  put  them  over  the 
wall  and  cried  with  the  cats,  “ Miaut,  Miaut.” 

Truly  the  Imperials  were  much  enraged,  having  been 
so  long  making  a breach,  at  great  loss,  which  was  eighty 
paces  wide,  that  fifty  men  of  their  front  rank  should 
enter  in,  only  to  find  a rampart  stronger  than  the  wall. 
They  threw  themselves  upon  the  poor  cats,  and  shot  them 
with  arquebuses  as  men  shoot  at  the  popinjay. 

Our  men  often  ran  out  upon  them,  by  order  of  M.  de 
Guise;  a few  days  ago,  our  men  had  all  made  haste  to 
enrol  themselves  in  sallying-parties,  chiefly  the  young  no- 
bility, led  by  experienced  captains;  and  indeed  it  was  doing 
them  a great  favour  to  let  them  issue  from  the  town  and  run 
upon  the  enemy.  They  went  forth  always  an  hundred  or 
six  score  men,  well  armed  with  cutlasses,  arquebuses^ 


28 


AMBROISE  PARE 


pistols,  pikes,  partisans,  and  halbards;  and  advanced  as  far 
as  the  trenches,  to  take  the  enemy  unawares.  Then  an 
alarum  would  be  sounded  all  through  the  enemy’s  camp,  and 
their  drums  would  beat  plan,  plan,  ta  ti  ta,  ta  ta  ti  ta,  ton  touf 
touf.  Likewise  their  trumpets  and  clarions  rang  and 
sounded,  To  saddle,  to  saddle,  to  saddle,  to  horse,  to  horse, 
to  horse,  to  saddle,  to  horse,  to  horse.  And  all  their  soldiers 
cried,  “Arm,  arm,  arm!  to  arms,  to  arms,  to  arms!  arm, 
to  arms,  arm,  to  arms,  arm”: — like  the  hue-and-cry  after 
wolves;  and  all  diverse  tongues,  according  to  their  nations; 
and  you  saw  them  come  out  of  their  tents  and  little  lodgings, 
as  thick  as  little  ants  when  you  uncover  the  ant-hills,  to 
bring  help  to  their  comrades,  who  were  having  their  throats 
cut  like  sheep.  Their  cavalry  also  came  from  all  sides  at 
full  gallop,  patati,  patata,  patati,  patata,  pa,  ta,  ta,  patata, 
pata,  ta,  eager  to  be  in  the  thick  of  the  fighting,  to  give 
and  take  their  share  of  the  blows.  And  when  our  men 
saw  themselves  hard  pressed,  they  would  turn  back  into  the 
town,  fighting  all  the  way;  and  those  pursuing  them  were 
driven  back  with  cannon-shots,  and  the  cannons  were 
loaded  with  flint-stones  and  with  big  pieces  of  iron,  square 
or  three-sided.  And  our  men  on  the  wall  fired  a volley,  and 
rained  bullets  on  them  as  thick  as  hail,  to  send  them  back 
to  their  beds;  whereas  many  remained  dead  on  the  field: 
and  our  men  also  did  not  all  come  back  with  whole  skins, 
and  there  were  always  some  left  behind  (as  it  were  a tax 
levied  on  us)  who  were  joyful  to  die  on  the  bed  of  honour. 
And  if  there  was  a horse  wounded,  it  was  skinned  and 
eaten  by  the  soldiers,  instead  of  beef  and  bacon ; and 
if  a man  was  wounded,  I must  run  and  dress  him.  Some 
days  afterward  there  were  other  sallies,  which  infuriated 
the  enemy,  that  we  would  not  let  him  sleep  a little  in 
safety. 

M.  de  Guise  played  a trick  upon  them : he  sent  a peasant, 
who  was  none  of  the  wisest,  with  two  letters  to  the  King,  and 
gave  him  ten  crowns,  and  promised  the  King  would  give 
him  an  hundred  if  he  got  the  letters  to  him.  In  the  one 
letter  M.  de  Guise  told  the  King  that  the  enemy  shewed  no 
signs  of  retreating,  and  had  put  forth  all  their  strength 
and  made  a great  breach,  which  he  hoped  to  defend,  even  at 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


29 


the  cost  of  his  own  life  and  of  all  who  were  in  the  town; 
and  that  the  enemy  had  planted  their  artillery  so  well  in 
a certain  place  (which  he  named)  that  it  was  with  great 
difficulty  he  could  keep  them  from  entering  the  town,  seeing 
it  was  the  weakest  place  in  the  town;  but  soon  he  hoped 
to  rebuild  it  well,  so  that  they  should  not  be  able  to  enter. 
This  letter  was  sewed  in  the  lining  of  the  man’s  doublet, 
and  he  was  told  to  be  very  careful  not  to  speak  of  it  to 
any  person.  And  the  other  letter  was  given  to  him,  wherein 
M.  de  Guise  told  the  King  that  he  and  all  those  besieged 
with  him  hoped  to  guard  the  town  well ; and  other  matters 
which  I leave  untold  here.  He  sent  out  the  man  at  night, 
and  he  was  taken  by  the  enemy’s  guard  and  brought  to 
the  Duke  of  Alva,  that  the  Duke  might  hear  what  was 
doing  in  the  town ; and  the  peasant  was  asked  if  he  had 
any  letters.  He  said  “ Yes,”  and  gave  them  the  one ; and 
they  having  seen  it  asked  him  if  he  had  not  another.  He 
said  “ No.”  Then  he  was  searched,  and  they  found  on  him 
that  which  was  sewed  in  his  doubtlet;  and  the  poor  mes- 
senger was  hanged  and  strangled. 

The  letters  were  taken  to  the  Emperor,  who  called  his 
council,  where  it  was  resolved,  since  they  had  been  unable 
to  do  anything  at  the  first  breach,  the  artillery  should 
forthwith  be  set  against  the  place  which  they  thought  weak- 
est, where  they  put  forth  all  their  strength  to  make  a fresh 
breach ; and  they  sapped  and  mined  the  wall,  and  tried  hard 
to  make  a way  into  the  Hell  Tower,  but  dared  not  assault 
it  openly. 

The  Duke  of  Alva  represented  to  the  Emperor  that 
every  day  their  soldiers  were  dying,  to  the  number  of  more 
than  two  hundred,  and  there  was  so  little  hope  of  entering 
the  town,  seeing  the  time  of  year  and  the  great  number 
of  our  soldiers  who  were  in  it.  The  Emperor  asked  what 
men  they  were  who  were  dying,  and  whether  they  were 
gentlemen  and  men  of  mark;  answer  was  made  to  him 
“ They  were  all  poor  soldiers.”  Then  said  he,  “ It  was  no 
great  loss  if  they  died,”  comparing  them  to  caterpillars,  grass- 
hoppers, and  cockchafers,  which  eat  up  the  buds  and  other 
good  things  of  the  earth ; and  if  they  were  men  of  any 
worth  they  would  not  be  in  his  camp  at  six  livres  the  month. 


30 


AMBROISE  PARfi 


and  therefore  it  was  no  great  harm  if  they  died.  Moreover, 
he  said  he  would  never  depart  from  the  town  till  he  had 
taken  it  by  force  or  by  famine,  though  he  should  lose  all 
his  army;  because  of  the  great  number  of  princes  who 
were  shut  up  in  it,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility 
of  France,  who  he  hoped  would  pay  his  expenses  four  times 
over;  and  he  would  go  yet  again  to  Paris,  to  see  the  Paris- 
ians, and  to  make  himself  King  of  all  the  kingdom  of 
France. 

M.  de  Guise,  with  the  princes,  captains,  and  soldiers, 
and  in  general  all  the  citizens  of  the  town,  having  heard 
the  Emperor’s  resolve  to  exterminate  us  all,  forbade  the 
soldiers  and  citizens,  and  even  the  princes  and  seigneurs, 
to  eat  fresh  fish  or  venison,  or  partridges,  woodcocks,  larks, 
francolines,  plovers,  or  other  game,  for  fear  these  had 
acquired  any  pestilential  air  which  could  bring  infection 
among  us.  So  they  had  to  content  themselves  with  the 
fare  of  the  army;  biscuit,  beef,  salt  cow-beef,  bacon,  cerve- 
las,  and  Mayence  hams;  also  fish,  as  haddock,  salmon,  shad, 
tunny,  whale,  anchovy,  sardines,  herrings;  also  peas,  beans, 
rice,  garlic,  onions,  prunes,  cheeses,  butter,  oil,  and  salt ; pep- 
per, ginger,  nutmegs  and  other  spices  to  put  in  our  pies, 
mostly  of  horses,  which  without  the  spice  had  a very  bad 
taste.  Many  citizens,  having  gardens  in  the  town,  had 
planted  them  with  fine  radishes,  turnips,  carrots,  and  leeks, 
which  they  kept  flourishing  and  very  dear,  for  the  extreme 
necessity  of  the  famine.  Now  all  these  stores  were  distri- 
buted by  weight,  measure,  and  justice,  according  to  the  qual- 
ity of  the  persons,  because  we  knew  not  how  long  the 
siege  would  last.  For  after  we  heard  the  Emperor’s  words, 
how  he  would  not  depart  from  before  Metz,  till  he  had  taken 
it  by  force  or  by  famine,  the  victuals  were  cut  down ; and 
what  they  used  to  distribute  to  three  soldiers  was  given  to 
four;  and  it  was  forbidden  to  them  to  sell  the  remains 
which  might  be  left  after  their  meals ; but  they  might  give 
them  to  the  rabble.  And  they  always  rose  from  table  with 
an  appetite,  for  fear  they  should  be  subject  to  take  physick. 

And  before  we  surrendered  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy, 
we  had  determined  to  eat  the  asses,  mules,  and  horses, 
dogs,  cats,  and  rats,  even  our  boots  and  collars,  and  other 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


31 


skins  that  we  could  have  softened  and  stewed.  And,  in  a 
word,  all  the  besieged  were  resolved  to  defend  themselves 
valiantly  with  all  instruments  of  war;  to  set  the  artillery 
at  the  entry  of  the  breach,  and  load  with  balls,  stones,  cart- 
nails,  bars  and  chains  of  iron;  also  all  sorts  and  kinds  of 
artificial  fires,  as  barricadoes,  grenades,  stink-pots,  torches, 
squibs,  fire-traps,  burning  faggots;  with  boiling  water, 
melted  lead,  and  lime,  to  put  out  the  enemy’s  eyes.  Also,  they 
were  to  make  holes  right  through  their  houses,  and  put 
arquebusiers  in  them,  to  take  the  enemy  in  flank  and  hasten 
his  going,  or  else  give  him  stop  then  and  there.  Also 
they  were  to  order  the  women  to  pull  up  the  streets,  and 
throw  from  their  windows  billets,  tables,  trestles,  benches, 
and  stools,  to  dash  out  the  enemy’s  brains.  Moreover,  a 
little  within  the  breach,  there  was  a great  stronghold  full  of 
carts  and  palisades,  tuns  and  casks ; and  barricades  of  earth 
to  serve  as  gabions,  interlaid  with  falconets,  falcons,  field- 
pieces,  crooked  arquebuses,  pistols,  arquebuses,  and  wild- 
fires, to  break  their  legs  and  thighs,  so  that  they  would  be 
taken  from  above  and  on  the  flank  and  from  behind;  and 
if  they  had  carried  this  stronghold,  there  were  others  where 
the  streets  crossed,  every  hundred  paces,  which  would  have 
been  as  bad  friends  to  them  as  the  first,  or  worse,  and 
would  have  made  many  widows  and  orphans.  And  if  for- 
tune had  been  so  hard  on  us  that  they  had  stormed  and 
broken  up  our  strongholds,  there  would  yet  have  been  seven 
great  companies,  drawn  up  in  square  and  in  triangle,  to 
fight  them  all  at  once,  each  led  by  one  of  the  princes,  for  the 
better  encouragement  of  our  men  to  fight  and  die  all  to- 
gether, even  to  the  last  breath  of  their  souls.  And  all 
were  resolved  to  bring  their  treasures,  rings,  and  jewels, 
and  their  best  and  richest  and  most  beautiful  household 
stuffs,  and  burn  them  to  ashes  in  the  great  square,  lest  the 
enemy  should  take  them  and  make  trophies  of  them.  Also 
there  were  men  charged  to  set  fire  to  all  the  stores  and 
burn  them,  and  to  stave  in  all  the  wine-casks;  others  to  set 
fire  to  every  single  house,  to  burn  the  enemy  and  us  together. 
The  citizens  thus  were  all  of  one  mind,  rather  than  see  the 
bloody  knife  at  their  throats,  and  their  wives  and  daughters 
ravished  and  taken  by  the  cruel  savage  Spaniards. 


32 


AMBROISE  PARE 


Now  we  had  certain  prisoners,  who  had  been  made 
secretly  to  understand  our  last  determination  and  despera- 
tion ; these  prisoners  M.  de  Guise  sent  away  on  parole,  who 
being  come  to  their  camp,  lost  no  time  in  saying  what  we 
had  told  them;  which  restrained  the  great  and  vehement 
desire  of  the  enemy,  so  that  they  were  no  longer  eager  to 
enter  the  town  to  cut  our  throats  and  enrich  themselves 
with  the  spoils.  The  Emperor,  having  heard  the  decision 
of  this  great  warrior,  M.  de  Guise,  put  water  in  his  wine, 
and  restrained  his  fury;  saying  that  he  could  not  enter 
the  town  save  with  vast  butchery  and  carnage,  and  shed- 
ding of  much  blood,  both  of  those  defending  and  of  those 
attacking,  and  they  would  be  all  dead  together,  and  in  the 
end  he  would  get  nothing  but  ashes;  and  afterward  men 
might  say  it  was  a like  destruction  to  that  of  the  town  of 
Jerusalem,  made  of  old  time  by  Titus  and  Vespasian. 

The  Emperor  thus  having  heard  our  last  resolve,  and 
seeing  how  little  he  had  gained  by  his  attack,  sappings,  and 
mines,  and  the  great  plague  that  was  through  all  his  camp, 
and  the  adverse  time  of  the  year,  and  the  want  of  victuals 
and  of  money,  and  how  his  soldiers  were  disbanding 
themselves  and  going  off  in  great  companies,  decided  at  last 
to  raise  the  siege  and  go  away,  with  the  cavalry  of  his 
vanguard,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  artillery  and  engines 
of  war.  The  Marquis  of  Brandebourg  was  the  last  to 
budge  from  his  place;  he  had  with  him  some  troops  of 
Spaniards  and  Bohemians,  and  his  German  regiments,  and 
there  he  stopped  for  a day  and  a half,  to  the  great  regret  of 
M.  de  Guise,  who  brought  four  pieces  of  artillery  out 
of  the  town,  which  he  fired  on  him  this  side  and  that,  to 
hurry  him  off : and  off  he  went,  sure  enough,  and  all  his  men 
with  him. 

When  he  was  a quarter  of  a league  from  Metz,  he  was 
seized  with  a panic  lest  our  cavalry  should  fall  upon  his  tail ; 
so  he  set  fire  to  his  store  of  powder,  and  left  behind  him 
some  pieces  of  artillery,  and  a quantity  of  baggage,  which  he 
could  not  take  along  with  him,  because  their  vanguard  and 
their  great  cannons  had  broken  and  torn  up  the  roads.  Our 
cavalry  were  longing  with  all  their  hearts  to  issue  from 
the  town  and  attack  him  behind;  but  M.  de  Guise  would 

(i)  HC  XXXVIII 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


33 


never  let  them,  saying  on  the  contrary  we  had  better  make 
their  way  smooth  for  them,  and  build  them  gold  and  silver 
bridges  to  let  them  go ; like  the  good  pastor  and  shepherd, 
who  will  not  lose  one  of  his  sheep. 

That  is  how  our  dear  and  well-beloved  Imperials  went 
away  from  Metz,  which  was  the  day  after  Christmas  Day, 
to  the  great  content  of  those  within  the  walls,  and  the 
praise  of  the  princes,  seigneurs,  captains,  and  soldiers, 
who  had  endured  the  travail  of  this  siege  for  more  than 
two  months.  Nevertheless,  they  did  not  all  go:  there 
wanted  more  than  twenty  thousand  of  them,  who  were 
dead,  from  our  artillery  and  the  fighting,  or  from  plague, 
cold,  and  starvation  (and  from  spite  and  rage  that  they 
could  not  get  into  the  town  to  cut  our  throats  and  plunder 
us)  : and  many  of  their  horses  also  died,  the  greater  part 
whereof  they  had  eaten  instead  of  beef  and  bacon.  We 
went  where  their  camp  had  been,  where  we  found  many 
dead  bodies  not  yet  buried,  and  the  earth  all  worked  up, 
as  one  sees  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Holy  Innocents  during 
some  time  of  many  deaths.  In  their  tents,  pavilions,  and 
lodgings  were  many  sick  people.  Also  cannon-shot,  weapons, 
carts,  waggons,  and  other  baggage,  with  a great  quantity  of 
soldier’s  bread,  spoiled  and  rotted  by  the  snows  and  rains 
(yet  the  soldiers  had  it  but  by  weight  and  measure).  Also 
they  left  a good  store  of  wood,  all  that  remained  of  the 
houses  they  had  demolished  and  broken  down  in  the  vil- 
lages for  two  or  three  leagues  around ; also  many  other 
pleasure-houses,  that  had  belonged  to  our  citizens,  with 
gardens  and  fine  orchards  full  of  diverse  fruit-trees.  And 
without  all  this,  they  would  have  been  benumbed  and  dead  of 
the  cold,  and  forced  to  raise  the  siege  sooner  than  they  did. 

M.  de  Guise  had  their  dead  buried,  and  their  sick  people 
treated.  Also  the  enemy  left  behind  them  in  the  Abbey  of 
Saint  Arnoul  many  of  their  wounded  soldiers,  whom  they 
could  not  possibly  take  with  them.  M.  de  Guise  sent  them 
all  victuals  enough,  and  ordered  me  and  the  other  surgeons  to 
go  dress  and  physick  them,  which  we  did  with  good  will ; 
and  I think  they  would  not  have  done  the  like  for  our  men. 
For  the  Spaniard  is  very  cruel,  treacherous,  and  inhuman, 
and  so  far  enemy  of  all  nations:  which  is  proved  by  Lopez 

(2)  HC  XXXVIII 


34 


AMBROISE  PARE 


the  Spaniard,  and  Benzo  of  Milan,  and  others  who  have 
written  the  history  of  America  and  the  West  Indies:  who 
have  had  to  confess  that  the  cruelty,  avarice,  blasphemies, 
and  wickedness  of  the  Spaniards  have  utterly  estranged  the 
poor  Indians  from  the  religion  that  these  Spaniards  pro- 
fessed. And  all  write  that  they  are  of  less  worth  than  the 
idolatrous  Indians,  for  their  cruel  treatment  of  these  In- 
dians. 

And  some  days  later  M.  de  Guise  sent  a trumpet  to 
Thionville  to  the  enemy,  that  they  could  send  for  their 
wounded  in  safety : which  they  did  with  carts  and  waggons, 
but  not  enough.  M.  de  Guise  gave  them  carts  and  carters, 
to  help  to  take  them  to  Thionville.  Our  carters,  when  they 
returned,  told  us  the  roads  were  all  paved  with  dead  bodies, 
and  they  never  got  half  the  men  there,  for  they  died  in 
their  carts : and  the  Spaniards  seeing  them  at  the  point  of 
death,  before  they  had  breathed  their  last,  threw  them  out 
of  the  carts  and  buried  them  in  the  mud  and  mire,  saying 
they  had  no  orders  to  bring  back  dead  men.  Moreover,  our 
carters  said  they  had  found  on  the  roads  many  carts 
stuck  in  the  mud,  full  of  baggage,  for  which  the  enemy 
dared  not  send  back,  lest  we  who  were  within  Metz  should 
run  out  upon  them. 

I would  return  to  the  reason  why  so  many  of  them 
died;  which  was  mostly  starvation,  the  plague,  and  cold.  For 
the  snow  was  more  than  two  feet  deep  upon  the  ground,  and 
they  were  lodged  in  pits  below  the  ground,  covered  only  with 
a little  thatch.  Nevertheless,  each  soldier  had  his  camp-bed, 
and  a coverlet  all  strewed  with  stars,  glittering  and  shin- 
ing brighter  than  fine  gold,  and  every  day  they  had  white 
sheets,  and  lodged  at  the  sign  of  the  Moon,  and  enjoyed 
themselves  if  only  they  had  been  able,  and  paid  their 
host  so  well  over  night  that  in  the  morning  they  went  off 
quits,  shaking  their  ears:  and  they  had  no  need  of  a comb  to 
get  the  down  and  feathers  out  of  their  beards  and  hair, 
and  they  always  found  a white  table-cloth,  and  would  have 
enjoyed  good  meals  but  for  want  of  food.  Also  the  greater 
part  of  them  had  neither  boots,  half-boots,  slippers,  hose, 
nor  shoes : and  most  of  them  would  rather  have  none  than 
any,  because  they  were  always  in  the  mire  up  to  mid-leg. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


35 


And  because  they  went  bare- foot,  we  called  them  the  Em- 
peror’s Apostles. 

After  the  camp  was  wholly  dispersed,  I distributed  my 
patients  into  the  hands  of  the  surgeons  of  the  town,  to 
finish  dressing  them : then  I took  leave  of  M.  de  Guise,  and 
returned  to  the  King,  who  received  me  with  great  favour, 
and  asked  me  how  I had  been  able  to  make  my  way  into 
Metz.  I told  him  fully  all  that  I had  done.  He  gave  me 
two  hundred  crowns,  and  an  hundred  which  I had  when 
I set  out:  and  said  he  would  never  leave  me  poor.  Then  I 
thanked  him  very  humbly  for  the  good  and  the  honour 
he  was  pleased  to  do  me. 

The  Journey  to  Hesdin.  155 

The  Emperor  Charles  laid  siege  to  the  town  of  The- 
roiienne;  and  M.  le  Due  de  Savoie  was  General  of  his 
whole  army.  It  was  taken  by  assault:  and  there  was  a 
great  number  of  our  men  killed  and  taken  prisoners. 

The  King,  wishing  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  besieg- 
ing the  town  and  castle  of  Hesdin  also,  sent  thither  MM. 
le  Due  de  Bouillon,  le  Due  Horace,  le  Marquis  de  Villars, 
and  a number  of  captains,  and  about  eighteen  hundred 
soldiers : and  during  the  siege  of  Theroiienne,  these  Seign- 
eurs fortified  the  castle  of  Hesdin,  so  that  it  seemed  to 
be  impregnable.  The  King  sent  me  to  the  Seigneurs, 
to  help  them  with  my  art,  if  they  should  come  to  have 
need  of  it. 

Soon  after  the  capture  of  Theroiienne,  we  were  besieged 
in  Hesdin.  There  was  a clear  stream  of  running  water 
within  shot  of  our  cannon,  and  about  it  were  fourscore 
or  an  hundred  of  the  enemy’s  rabble,  drawing  water.  I 
was  on  a rampart  watching  the  enemy  pitch  their  camp; 
and,  seeing  the  crowd  of  idlers  round  the  stream,  I asked 
M.  du  Pont,  commissary  of  the  artillery,  to  send  one 
cannon-shot  among  this  canaille:  he  gave  me  a flat  refusal, 
saying  that  all  this  sort  of  people  was  not  worth  the  powder 
would  be  wasted  on  them.  Again  I begged  him  to  level 
the  cannon,  telling  him,  “ The  more  dead,  the  fewer  en- 
emies ; ” which  he  did  for  my  sake : and  the  shot  killed 


36 


AMBROISE  PARf5 


fifteen  or  sixteen,  and  wounded  many.  Our  men  made 
sorties  against  the  enemy,  wherein  many  were  killed  and 
wounded  on  both  sides,  with  gunshot  or  with  fighting  hand 
to  hand;  and  our  men  often  sallied  out  before  their  trenches 
were  made ; so  that  I had  my  work  cut  out  for  me,  and 
had  no  rest  either  day  or  night  for  dressing  the  wounded. 

And  here  I would  note  that  we  had  put  many  of  them 
in  a great  tower,  laying  them  on  a little  straw:  and  their 
pillows  were  stones,  their  coverlets  were  cloaks,  those  who 
had  any.  When  the  attack  was  made,  so  often  as  the 
enemy’s  cannons  were  fired,  our  wounded  said  they  felt  pain 
in  their  wounds,  as  if  you  had  struck  them  with  a stick : 
one  was  crying  out  on  his  head,  the  other  on  his  arm,  and 
so  with  the  other  parts  of  the  body:  and  many  had  their 
wounds  bleed  again,  even  more  profusely  than  at  the  time 
they  were  wounded,  and  then  I had  to  run  to  staunch  them. 
Mon  petit  maistre,  if  you  had  been  there,  you  would  have 
been  much  hindered  with  your  hot  irons ; you  would  have 
wanted  a lot  of  charcoal  to  heat  them  red,  and  sure  you 
would  have  been  killed  like  a calf  for  your  cruelty.  Many 
died  of  the  diabolical  storm  of  the  echo  of  these  engines 
of  artillery,  and  the  vehement  agitation  and  severe  shock 
of  the  air  acting  on  their  wounds ; others  because  they 
got  no  rest  for  the  shouting  and  crying  that  were  made  day 
and  night,  and  for  want  of  good  food,  and  other  things 
needful  for  their  treatment.  Mon  petit  maistre,  if  you  had 
been  there,  no  doubt  you  could  have  given  them  jelly, 
restoratives,  gravies,  pressed  meats,  broth,  barley-water, 
almond-milk,  blanc-mange,  prunes,  plums,  and  other  food 
proper  for  the  sick;  but  your  diet  would  have  been  only  on 
paper,  and  in  fact  they  had  nothing  but  beef  of  old  shrunk 
cows,  seized  round  Hesdin  for  our  provision,  salted  and 
half-cooked,  so  that  he  who  would  eat  it  must  drag  at  it  with 
his  teeth,  as  birds  of  prey  tear  their  food.  Nor  must  I forget 
the  linen  for  dressing  their  wounds,  which  was  only  washed 
daily  and  dried  at  the  fire,  till  it  was  as  hard  as  parchment: 
I leave  you  to  think  how  their  wounds  could  do  well.  There 
were  four  big  fat  rascally  women  who  had  charge  to  whiten 
the  linen,  and  were  kept  at  it  with  the  stick ; and  yet  they 
had  not  water  enough  to  do  it,  much  less  soap.  That  is 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


37 


how  the  poor  patients  died,  for  want  of  food  and  other 
necessary  things. 

One  day  the  enemy  feigned  a general  attack,  to  draw 
our  soldiers  into  the  breach,  that  they  might  see  what  we 
were  like : every  man  ran  thither.  We  had  made  a great 
store  of  artificial  fires  to  defend  the  breach;  a priest  of  M. 
le  Due  de  Bouillon  took  a grenade,  thinking  to  throw  it  at 
the  enemy,  and  lighted  it  before  he  ought:  it  burst,  and  set 
fire  to  all  our  store,  which  was  in  a house  near  the  breach. 
This  was  a terrible  disaster  for  us,  because  it  burned  many 
poor  soldiers ; it  even  caught  the  house,  and  we  had  all  been 
burned,  but  for  help  given  to  put  it  out ; there  was  only 
one  well  in  the  castle  with  any  water  in  it,  and  this  was 
almost  dry,  and  we  took  beer  to  put  it  out  instead  of 
water ; afterward  we  were  in  great  want  of  water,  and 
to  drink  what  was  left  we  must  strain  it  through  napkins. 

The  enemy,  seeing  the  explosion  and  violence  of  the  fires, 
which  made  a wonderful  flame  and  thundering,  thought  we 
had  lit  them  on  purpose  to  defend  the  breach,  and  that  we 
had  many  more  of  them.  This  made  them  change  their 
minds,  to  have  us  some  other  way  than  by  attack:  they 
dug  mines,  and  sapped  the  greater  part  of  our  walls,  till 
they  came  near  turning  our  castle  altogether  upside  down; 
and  when  the  sappers  had  finished  their  work,  and  their 
artillery  was  fired,  all  the  castle  shook  under  our  feet  like 
an  earthquake,  to  our  great  astonishment.  Moreover,  they 
had  levelled  five  pieces  of  artillery,  which  they  had  placed  on 
a little  hillock,  so  as  to  have  us  from  behind  when  we  were 
gone  to  defend  the  breach.  M.  le  Due  Horace  had  a can- 
non-shot on  the  elbow,  which  carried  off  his  arm  one  way 
and  his  body  the  other,  before  he  could  say  a single  word ; 
his  death  was  a great  disaster  to  us,  for  the  high  rank 
that  he  held  in  the  town.  Also  M.  de  Martigues  had  a gun- 
shot wound  which  pierced  his  lungs : I dressed  him,  as  I 
shall  tell  hereafter. 

Then  we  asked  leave  to  speak  with  the  enemy ; and  a 
trumpet  was  sent  to  the  Prince  of  Piedmont,  to  know  what 
terms  he  would  give  us.  He  answered  that  all  the  leaders, 
such  as  gentlemen,  captains,  lieutenants,  and  ensigns,  would 
be  taken  prisoners  for  ransom,  and  the  soldiers  would  leave 


38 


AMBROISE  PAR& 


the  town  without  their  arms;  and  if  we  refused  this  fair 
and  honest  offer,  we  might  rest  assured  they  would  take  us 
next  day,  by  attack  or  otherwise. 

A council  was  held,  to  which  I was  called,  to  know  if 
I would  sign  the  surrender  of  the  town;  with  many  captains, 
gentlemen,  and  others.  I answered  it  was  not  possible  to 
hold  the  town,  and  I would  sign  the  surrender  with  my  own 
blood,  for  the  little  hope  I had  we  could  resist  the  enemy’s 
forces,  and  for  the  great  longing  I had  to  be  out  of  this  hell 
and  utter  torture;  for  I slept  neither  night  nor  day  for  the 
great  number  of  the  wounded,  who  were  about  two  hundred. 
The  dead  were  advanced  in  putrefaction,  piled  one  upon 
the  other  like  faggots,  and  not  covered  with  earth,  because 
we  had  none.  And  if  I went  into  a soldier’s  lodging, 
there  were  soldiers  waiting  for  me  at  the  door  when  I 
came  out,  for  me  to  dress  others ; it  was  who  should  have  me, 
and  they  carried  me  like  the  body  of  a saint,  with  my 
feet  off  the  ground,  fighting  for  me.  I could  not  satisfy 
this  great  number  of  wounded:  nor  had  I got  what  I 
wanted  for  their  treatment.  For  it  is  not  enough  that  the 
surgeon  do  his  duty  toward  his  patients,  but  the  patient 
also  must  do  his ; and  the  assistants,  and  external  things, 
must  work  together  for  him : see  Hippocrates,  Aphorism 
the  First. 

Having  heard  that  we  were  to  surrender  the  place,  I 
knew  our  business  was  not  prospering;  and  for  fear  of 
being  known,  I gave  a velvet  coat,  a satin  doublet,  and  a 
cloak  of  fine  cloth  trimmed  with  velvet,  to  a soldier;  who 
gave  me  a bad  doublet  all  torn  and  ragged  with  wear, 
and  a frayed  leather  collar,  and  a bad  hat,  and  a short  cloak; 
I dirtied  the  neck  of  my  shirt  with  water  mixed  with  a 
little  soot,  I rubbed  my  hose  with  a stone  at  the  knees 
and  over  the  heels,  as  though  they  had  been  long  worn.  I 
did  the  same  to  my  shoes,  till  one  would  have  taken  me  for 
a chimney-sweep  rather  than  a King’s  surgeon.  I went 
in  this  gear  to  M.  de  Martigues,  and  prayed  him  to  arrange 
I should  stop  with  him  to  dress  him;  which  he  granted  very 
willingly,  and  was  as  glad  I should  be  near  him  as  I was 
myself. 

Soon  afterward,  the  commissioners  who  were  to  select 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


39 


the  prisoners  entered  the  castle,  the  seventeenth  day  of 
July,  1553.  They  took  prisoners  MM.  le  Due  de  Bouillon,  le 
Marquis  de  Villars,  de  Roze,  le  Baron  de  Culan,  M.  du 
Pont,  commissary  of  the  artillery,  and  M.  de  Martigues ; and 
me  with  him,  because  he  asked  them;  and  all  the  gentle- 
men who  they  knew  could  pay  ransom,  and  most  of  the 
soldiers  and  the  leaders  of  companies;  so  many  and  such 
prisoners  as  they  wished.  And  then  the  Spanish  soldiers 
entered  by  the  breach,  unresisted;  our  men  thought  they 
would  keep  their  faith  and  agreement  that  all  lives  should 
be  spared.  They  entered  the  town  in  a fury  to  kill,  plunder, 
and  ravage  everything : they  took  a few  men,  hoping  to  have 
ransom  for  them.  ...  If  they  saw  they  could  not 
get  it,  they  cruelly  put  them  to  death  in  cold  blood.  . . . 

And  they  killed  them  all  with  daggers,  and  cut  their  throats. 
Such  was  their  great  cruelty  and  treachery;  let  him  trust 
them  who  will. 

To  return  to  my  story:  when  I was  taken  from  the 
castle  into  the  town,  with  M.  de  Martigues,  there  was  one 
of  M.  de  Savoie’s  gentlemen,  who  asked  me  if  M.  de 
Martigues’s  wound  could  be  cured.  I told  him  no,  that  it 
was  incurable : and  off  he  went  to  tell  M.  le  Due  de  Savoie. 
I bethought  myself  they  would  send  physicians  and  surgeons 
to  dress  M.  de  Martigues ; and  I argued  within  myself  if  I 
ought  to  play  the  simpleton,  and  not  let  myself  be  known  for 
a surgeon,  lest  they  should  keep  me  to  dress  their  wounded, 
and  in  the  end  I should  be  found  to  be  the  King’s  surgeon, 
and  they  would  make  me  pay  a big  ransom.  On  the  other 
hand,  I feared,  if  I did  not  show  I was  a surgeon  and  had 
dressed  M.  de  Martigues  skilfully,  they  would  cut  my  throat. 
Forthwith  I made  up  my  mind  to  show  them  he  would  not 
die  for  want  of  having  been  well  dressed  and  nursed. 

Soon  after,  sure  enough,  there  came  many  gentlemen, 
with  the  Emperor’s  physician,  and  his  surgeon,  and  those 
belonging  to  M.  de  Savoie,  and  six  other  surgeons  of  his 
army,  to  see  M.  de  Martigues’s  wound,  and  to  know  of  me 
how  I had  dressed  and  treated  it.  The  Emperor’s  physician 
bade  me  declare  the  essential  nature  of  the  wound,  and 
what  I had  done  for  it.  And  all  his  assistants  kept  their 
ears  wide  open,  to  know  if  the  wound  were  or  were  not 


40 


AMBROISE  PAR£ 


mortal.  I commenced  my  discourse  to  them,  how  M.  de 
Martigues,  looking  over  the  wall  to  mark  those  who  were 
sapping  it,  was  shot  with  an  arquebus  through  the  body, 
and  I was  called  of  a sudden  to  dress  him.  I found  blood 
coming  from  his  mouth  and  from  his  wounds.  Moreover,  he 
had  a great  difficulty  of  breathing  in  and  out,  and  air  came 
whistling  from  the  wounds,  so  that  it  would  have  put  out 

a candle ; and  he  said  he  had  a very  great  stabbing  pain 

where  the  bullet  had  entered.  ...  I withdrew  some 
' scales  of  bone,  and  put  in  each  wound  a tent  with  a large 
head,  fastened  with  a thread,  lest  on  inspiration  it  should 
be  drawn  into  the  cavity  of  the  chest ; which  has  happened 
with  surgeons,  to  the  detriment  of  the  poor  wounded;  for 
being  fallen  in,  you  cannot  get  them  out ; and  then  they 
beget  corruption,  being  foreign  bodies.  The  tents  were 
anointed  with  a preparation  of  yolk  of  egg,  Venice  turpen- 
tine, and  a little  oil  of  roses.  ...  I put  over  the  wounds 

a great  plaster  of  diachylum,  wherewith  I had  mixed  oil 
of  roses,  and  vinegar,  to  avoid  inflammation.  Then  I 
applied  great  compresses  steeped  in  oxycrate,  and  band- 
aged him,  not  too  tight,  that  he  might  breathe  easily. 
Next,  I drew  five  basons  of  blood  from  his  right  arm, 
considering  his  youth  and  his  sanguine  temperament.  . . . 
Fever  took  him,  soon  after  he  was  wounded,  with  fee- 
bleness of  the  heart.  . . . His  diet  was  barley-water, 
prunes  with  sugar,  at  other  times  broth : his  drink  was  a 
ptisane.  He  could  lie  only  on  his  back.  . . . What  more 

shall  I say?  but  that  my  Lord  de  Martigues  never  had  an 
hour’s  rest  after  he  was  wounded.  . . . These  things 

considered,  Gentlemen,  no  other  prognosis  is  possible,  save 
that  he  will  die  in  a few  days,  to  my  great  grief. 

Having  finished  my  discourse,  I dressed  him  as  I was 
accustomed.  When  I displayed  his  wounds,  the  physicians 
and  surgeons,  and  other  assistants  present,  knew  the  truth 
of  what  I had  said.  The  physicians,  having  felt  his  pulse 
and  seen  that  the  vital  forces  were  depressed  and  spent, 
agreed  with  me  that  in  a few  days  he  would  die.  Then  they 
all  went  to  the  Due  de  Savoie,  and  told  him  M.  de  Marti- 
gues would  die  in  a short  time.  He  answered  them,  “ Possi- 
bly, if  he  had  been  well  dressed,  he  might  have  escaped 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


41 


death.”  Then  they  all  with  one  voice  said  he  had  been 
very  well  dressed  and  cared  for  altogether,  and  it  could 
not  be  better,  and  it  was  impossible  to  cure  him,  and  his 
wound  was  of  necessity  mortal.  Then  M.  de  Savoie  was 
very  angry  with  them,  and  cried,  and  asked  them  again 
if  for  certain  they  all  held  his  case  hopeless:  they  answered, 
yes. 

Then  a Spanish  impostor  came  forward,  who  promised  on 
his  life  to  cure  him;  and  if  he  did  not,  they  should  cut  him 
in  an  hundred  pieces ; but  he  would  have  no  physicians, 
nor  surgeons,  nor  apothecaries  with  him : and  M.  le  Due 
de  Savoie  forthwith  bade  the  physicians  and  surgeons  not 
go  near  M.  de  Martigues;  and  sent  a gentleman  to  bid  me, 
under  pain  of  death,  not  so  much  as  to  touch  him.  Which 
I promised,  and  was  very  glad,  for  now  he  would  not  die 
under  my  hands;  and  the  impostor  was  told  to  dress  him, 
and  to  have  with  him  no  other  physicians  or  surgeons, 
but  only  himself.  By  and  bye  he  came,  and  said  to  M.  de 
Martigues,  “ Senor  Cavallero,  M.  de  Savoie  has  bid  me 
come  and  dress  your  wound.  I swear  to  God,  before  eight 
days  I will  set  you  on  horseback,  lance  in  hand,  provided 
none  touch  you  but  I alone.  You  shall  eat  and  drink  what- 
ever you  like.  I will  be  dieted  instead  of  you;  and  you 
may  trust  me  to  perform  what  I promise.  I have  cured 
many  who  had  worse  wounds  than  yours.”  And  the 
Seigneurs  answered  him,  “ God  give  you  His  grace  for 
it.” 

He  asked  for  a shirt  of  M.  de  Martigues,  and  tore  it 
in  little  strips,  which  he  laid  cross-wise,  muttering  and  mur- 
muring certain  words  over  the  wounds:  having  done  this 
much  for  him,  he  let  him  eat  and  drink  all  he  would, 
saying  he  himself  would  be  dieted  in  his  stead;  which  he 
did,  eating  but  six  prunes  and  six  morsels  of  bread  for 
dinner,  and  drinking  only  beer.  Nevertheless,  two  days 
later,  M.  de  Martigues  died : and  my  friend  the  Spaniard, 
seeing  him  at  the  point  of  death,  eclipsed  himself,  and  got 
away  without  good-bye  to  any  man.  And  I believe  if  he 
had  been  caught  he  would  have  been  hanged  and  strangled, 
for  the  false  promise  he  made  to  M.  le  Due  de  Savoie  and 
many  other  gentlemen.  M.  de  Martigues  died  about  ten 


42 


AMBROISE  PARE 


o’clock  in  the  morning;  and  after  dinner  M.  de  Savoie  sent 
the  physicians  and  surgeons,  and  his  apothecary,  with  a 
store  of  drugs  to  embalm  him.  They  came  with  many 
gentlemen  and  captains  of  his  army. 

The  Emperor’s  surgeon  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  in 
a very  friendly  way  to  make  the  embalmment ; which  I 
refused,  saying  that  I was  not  worthy  to  carry  his  instru- 
ment-box after  him.  He  begged  me  again  to  do  it  to  please 
him,  and  that  he  would  be  very  glad  of  it.  . . . Seeing 

his  kindness,  and  fearing  to  displease  him,  I then  decided 
to  show  them  the  anatomist  that  I was,  expounding  to  them 
many  things,  which  would  here  be  too  long  to  recite.  . . . 
Our  discourse  finished,  I embalmed  the  body;  and  it  was 
placed  in  a coffin.  Then  the  Emperor’s  surgeon  drew  me 
aside,  and  told  me,  if  I would  stop  with  him,  he  would 
treat  me  well,  and  give  me  a new  suit  of  clothes,  and  set 
me  on  horseback.  I gave  him  many  thanks,  and  said  I 
had  no  wish  to  serve  any  country  but  my  own.  Then  he 
told  me  I was  a fool,  and  if  he  were  a prisoner  as  I was, 
he  would  serve  a devil  to  get  his  freedom.  In  the  end  I 
told  him  flat  I would  not  stop  with  him.  The  Emperor’s 
physician  then  went  back  to  M.  de  Savoie,  and  explained  to 
him  the  causes  of  M.  de  Martigues’  death,  and  that  it 
was  impossible  for  all  the  men  in  the  world  to  have  cured 
him;  and  assured  him  again  I had  done  all  that  was  to  be 
done,  and  besought  him  to  take  me  into  his  service ; saying 
much  more  good  of  me  than  there  was.  He  having  been 
persuaded  to  do  this,  sent  to  me  one  of  his  stewards,  M.  du 
Bouchet,  to  tell  me,  if  I would  serve  him,  he  would  use  me 
well ; I sent  back  my  very  humble  thanks,  and  that  I had  de- 
cided not  to  take  service  under  any  foreigner.  When  he 
heard  my  answer  he  was  very  angry,  and  said  I ought  to  be 
sent  to  the  galleys. 

M.  de  Vaudeville,  Governor  of  Graveline,  and  colonel 
of  seventeen  ensigns  of  infantry,  asked  him  to  send  me 
to  him,  to  dress  an  old  ulcer  on  his  leg,  that  he  had  had  for 
six  or  seven  years.  M.  de  Savoie  said  he  was  willing, 
so  far  as  I was  concerned ; and  if  I used  the  cautery 
to  his  leg,  it  would  serve  him  right.  M.  de  Vaudeville 
answered,  if  he  saw  me  trying  it,  he  would  have  my  throat 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


43 


cut.  Soon  after,  he  sent  for  me  four  German  halberdiers 
of  his  guard;  and  I was  terrified,  for  I did  not  know 
where  they  were  taking  me:  they  spoke  no  more  French 
than  I German.  When  I was  come  to  his  lodging,  he 
bade  me  welcome,  and  said,  now  I belonged  to  him;  and 
so  soon  as  I had  healed  him,  he  would  let  me  go  without 
ransom.  I told  him  I had  no  means  to  pay  any  ransom. 
He  called  his  physician  and  his  surgeon-in-ordinary,  to 
show  me  his  leg;  and  when  we  had  examined  it,  we  with- 
drew into  a room,  where  I began  my  discourse  to  them. 
. . . Then  the  physician  left  me  with  the  surgeon,  and 

went  back  to  M.  de  Vaudeville,  and  said  he  was  sure  I 
could  cure  him,  and  told  him  all  I had  decided  to  do ; 
which  pleased  him  vastly.  He  sent  for  me,  and  asked 
if  I thought  I could  cure  him ; I said  yes,  if  he  were 
obedient  to  what  was  necessary.  He  promised  to  do  only 
what  I wished  and  ordered;  and  so  soon  as  he  was  healed, 
he  would  let  me  go  home  without  ransom.  Then  I asked 
him  to  make  better  terms  with  me,  saying  it  was  too  long 
to  wait  for  my  liberty : in  fifteen  days  I hoped  his  ulcer 
would  be  less  than  half  its  present  size,  and  give  no  pain; 
then  his  own  surgeon  and  physician  could  finish  the  cure. 
He  granted  this  to  me.  Then  I took  a piece  of  paper 
to  measure  the  size  of  the  ulcer,  and  gave  it  to  him, 
and  kept  another  by  me ; I asked  him  to  keep  his  promise, 
when  I had  done  my  work;  he  swore  by  the  faith  of  a 
gentleman  he  would.  Then  I set  myself  to  dress  him 
properly,  after  the  manner  of  Galen.  . . . He  wished 
to  know  if  it  were  true,  what  I said  of  Galen,  and  bade 
his  physician  look  to  it,  for  he  would  know  it  for  him- 
self ; he  had  the  book  put  on  the  table,  and  found  that 
what  I said  was  true ; so  the  physician  was  ashamed,  and 
I was  glad.  Within  the  fifteen  days,  it  was  almost  all 
healed;  and  I began  to  feel  happy  about  the  compact 
made  between  us.  He  had  me  to  eat  and  drink  at  his 
table,  when  there  were  no  more  great  persons  than  he 
and  I only.  He  gave  me  a big  red  scarf  which  I must 
wear ; which  made  me  feel  something  like  a dog  when 
they  give  him  a clog,  to  stop  him  eating  the  grapes  in 
the  vineyards.  His  physician  and  surgeon  took  me 


44 


AMBROISE  PAR£ 


through  the  camp  to  visit  their  wounded;  and  I took  care 
to  observe  what  our  enemy  was  doing.  I found  they  had 
no  more  great  cannons,  but  only  twenty-five  or  thirty 
field-pieces. 

M.  de  Vaudeville  held  prisoner  M.  de  Bauge,  brother 
of  M.  de  Martigues  who  died  at  Hesdin.  M.  de  Bauge  was 
prisoner  at  Chateau  de  La  Motte  au  Bois,  belonging  to 
the  Emperor;  he  had  been  captured  at  Theroiienne  by  two 
Spanish  soldiers;  and  M.  de  Vaudeville,  when  he  saw 
him  there,  concluded  he  must  be  some  gentleman  of  good 
family : he  made  him  pull  off  his  stockings,  and  seeing 
his  clean  legs  and  feet,  and  his  fine  white  stockings,  knew 
he  was  one  to  pay  a good  ransom.  He  told  the  soldiers 
he  would  give  them  thirty  crowns  down  for  their  prisoner : 
they  agreed  gladly,  for  they  had  no  place  to  keep  him, 
nor  food  for  him,  nor  did  they  know  his  value;  so  they 
gave  their  man  into  his  hands,  and  he  sent  him  off  at 
once,  guarded  by  four  of  his  own  soldiers,  to  Chateau  de 
La  Motte  au  Bois,  with  others  of  our  gentlemen  who  were 
prisoners. 

M.  de  Bauge  would  not  tell  who  he  was;  and  endured 
much  hardship,  living  on  bread  and  water,  with  a little 
straw  for  his  bed.  When  Hesdin  was  taken,  M.  de  Vaude- 
ville sent  the  news  of  it  to  him  and  to  the  other  prisoners, 
and  the  list  of  the  killed,  and  among  them  M.  de  Mar- 
tigues : and  when  M.  de  Bauge  heard  with  his  own  ears 
his  brother  was  dead,  he  fell  to  crying,  weeping,  and 
lamentation.  His  guards  asked  him  why  he  was  so  mis- 
erable : he  told  them,  for  love  of  M.  de  Martigues,  his 
brother.  When  he  heard  this,  the  captain  of  the  castle 
sent  straight  to  tell  M.  de  Vaudeville  he  had  a good 
prisoner:  who  was  delighted  at  this,  and  sent  me  next 
day  with  four  soldiers,  and  his  own  physician,  to  the  castle, 
to  say  that  if  M.  de  Bauge  would  pay  him  fifteen  thousand 
crowns  ransom,  he  would  send  him  home  free:  and  he 
asked  only  the  security  of  two  Antwerp  merchants  that 
he  should  name.  M.  de  Vaudeville  persuaded  me  I should 
commend  this  offer  to  his  prisoner:  that  is  why  he  sent 
me  to  the  castle.  He  told  the  captain  to  treat  him  well 
and  put  him  in  a room  with  hangings,  and  strengthen 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


45 


his  guard : and  from  that  time  onward  they  made  a great 
deal  of  him,  at  the  expense  of  M.  de  Vaudeville. 

M.  de  Bauge  answered  that  he  could  not  pay  his  ran- 
som himself:  it  depended  on  M.  d’  Estampes  his  uncle, 
and  Mile,  de  Bressure  his  aunt:  he  had  no  means  to  pay 
such  a ransom.  I went  back  with  my  guards,  and  gave  this 
answer  to  M.  de  Vaudeville;  who  said,  “Possibly  he  will 
not  get  away  so  cheap  ” : which  was  true,  for  they  knew 
who  he  was.  Then  the  Queen  of  Hungary  and  M.  le 
Due  de  Savoie  sent  word  to  M.  de  Vaudeville  that  this 
mouthful  was  too  big  for  him,  and  he  must  send  his 
prisoner  to  them  (which  he  did),  and  he  had  other  prisoners 
enough  without  him.  The  ransom  paid  was  forty  thousand 
crowns,  without  other  expenses. 

On  my  way  back  to  M.  de  Vaudeville,  I passed  by  Saint 
Omer,  where  I saw  their  great  cannons,  most  of  which 
were  fouled  and  broken.  Also  I passed  by  Theroiienne, 
where  I saw  not  one  stone  left  on  another,  save  a vestige 
of  the  great  church : for  the  Emperor  ordered  the  coun- 
try people  for  five  or  six  leagues  round  to  clear  and  take 
away  the  stones ; so  that  now  you  may  drive  a cart  over 
the  town:  and  the  same  at  Hesdin,  and  no  trace  of  castle 
and  fortress.  Such  is  the  evil  that  wars  bring  with  them. 

To  return  to  my  story;  M.  de  Vaudeville  soon  got  the 
better  of  his  ulcer,  and  was  nearly  healed:  so  he  let  me 
go,  and  sent  me  by  a trumpet,  with  passport,  as  far  as 
Abbeville.  I posted  from  here,  and  went  to  find  my 
master,  King  Henry,  at  Aufimon,  who  received  me  gladly 
and  with  good  favour.  He  sent  MM.  de  Guise,  the  Con- 
stable, and  d’  Estres,  to  hear  from  me  the  capture  of 
Hesdin ; and  I made  them  a true  report,  and  assured  them 
I had  seen  the  great  cannons  they  had  taken  to  Saint  Omer: 
and  the  King  was  glad,  for  he  had  feared  the  enemy 
would  come  further  into  France.  He  gave  me  two  hun- 
dred crowns  to  take  me  home : and  I was  thankful  to  be 
free,  out  of  this  great  torment  and  thunder  of  the  dia- 
bolical artillery,  and  away  from  the  soldiers,  blasphemers 
and  deniers  of  God.  I must  add  that  after  Hesdin  was 
taken,  the  King  was  told  I was  not  killed  but  taken  prisoner. 
He  made  M.  Goguier,  his  chief  physician,  write  to  my 


46 


AMBROISE  PARE 


wife  that  I was  living,  and  she  was  not  to  be  unhappy, 
and  he  would  pay  my  ransom. 

Battle  of  Saint  Quentin.  1557 

After  the  battle  of  Saint  Quentin,  the  King  sent  me 
to  La  Fere  en  Tartenois,  to  M.  le  Marechal  de  Bourdillon, 
for  a passport  to  M.  le  Due  de  Savoie,  that  I might  go 
and  dress  the  Constable,  who  had  been  badly  wounded 
in  the  back  with  a pistol-shot,  whereof  he  was  like  to  die, 
and  remained  prisoner  in  the  enemy’s  hands.  But  never 
would  M.  le  Due  de  Savoie  let  me  go  to  him,  saying  he 
would  not  die  for  want  of  a surgeon ; that  he  much  doubted 
I would  go  there  only  to  dress  him,  and  not  rather  to 
take  some  secret  information  to  him;  and  that  he  knew 
I was  privy  to  other  things  besides  surgery,  and  remem- 
bered I had  been  his  prisoner  at  Hesdin.  M.  le  Marechal 
told  the  King  of  this  refusal : who  wrote  to  M.  le  Mare- 
chal, that  if  Mme.  the  Constable’s  Lady  would  send  some 
quick-witted  man  of  her  household  I would  give  him  a 
letter,  and  had  also  something  to  say  to  him  by  word  of 
mouth,  entrusted  to  me  by  the  King  and  by  M.  le  Cardinal 
de  Lorraine.  Two  days  later  there  came  one  of  the  Con- 
stable’s gentlemen  of  the  bedchamber,  with  his  shirts  and 
other  linen,  to  whom  M.  le  Marechal  gave  a passport  to 
go  to  the  Constable.  I was  very  glad,  and  gave  him  my 
letter,  and  instructed  him  what  his  master  must  do  now 
he  was  prisoner. 

I thought,  having  finished  my  mission,  to  return  to  the 
King;  but  M.  le  Marechal  begged  me  to  stop  at  La  Fere 
with  him,  to  dress  a very  great  number  of  wounded  who 
had  retreated  there  after  the  battle,  and  he  would  write 
to  the  King  to  explain  why  I stopped;  which  I did.  Their 
wounds  were  very  putrid,  and  full  of  worms,  with  gangrene, 
and  corruption ; and  I had  to  make  free  play  with  the 
knife  to  cut  off  what  was  corrupt,  which  was  not  done 
without  amputation  of  arms  and  legs,  and  also  sundry 
trepannings.  They  found  no  store  of  drugs  at  La  Fere, 
because  the  surgeons  of  the  camp  had  taken  them  all  away ; 
but  I found  the  waggons  of  the  artillery  there,  and  these 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


47 


had  not  been  touched.  I asked  M.  le  Marechal  to  let  me 
have  some  of  the  drugs  which  were  in  them,  which  he 
did;  and  I was  given  the  half  only  at  one  time,  and  five 
or  six  days  later  I had  to  take  the  rest;  and  yet  it  was  not 
half  enough  to  dress  the  great  number  of  wounded.  And 
to  correct  and  stop  the  corruption,  and  kill  the  worms  in 
their  wounds,  I washed  them  with  Aigyptiacum  dissolved 
in  wine  and  eau-de-vie,  and  did  all  I could  for  them;  but 
in  spite  of  all  my  care  many  of  them  died. 

There  were  at  La  Fere  some  gentlemen  charged  to  find 
the  dead  body  of  M.  de  Bois-Dauphin  the  elder,  who  had 
been  killed  in  the  battle;  they  asked  me  to  go  with  them  to 
the  camp,  to  pick  him  out,  if  we  could,  among  the  dead; 
but  it  was  not  possible  to  recognize  him,  the  bodies  being 
all  far  gone  in  corruption,  and  their  faces  changed.  We 
saw  more  than  half  a league  round  us  the  earth  all  covered 
with  the  dead;  and  hardly  stopped  there,  because  of  the 
stench  of  the  dead  men  and  their  horses ; and  so  many 
blue  and  green  flies  rose  from  them,  bred  of  the  moisture 
of  the  bodies  and  the  heat  of  the  sun,  that  when  they 
were  up  in  the  air  they  hid  the  sun.  It  was  wonderful 
to  hear  them  buzzing;  and  where  they  settled,  there  they 
infected  the  air,  and  brought  the  plague  with  them.  Mon 
petit  maistre,  I wish  you  had  been  there  with  me,  to  ex- 
perience the  smells,  and  make  report  thereof  to  them  that 
were  not  there. 

I was  very  weary  of  the  place ; I prayed  M.  le  Marechal 
to  let  me  leave  it,  and  feared  I should  be  ill  there ; for 
the  wounded  men  stank  past  all  bearing,  and  they  died 
nearly  all,  in  spite  of  everything  we  did.  He  got  surgeons 
to  finish  the  treatment  of  them,  and  sent  me  away  with  his 
good  favour.  He  wrote  to  the  King  of  the  diligence  I 
had  shown  toward  the  poor  wounded.  Then  I returned 
to  Paris,  where  I found  many  more  gentlemen,  who  had 
been  wounded  and  gone  thither  after  the  battle. 

The  Journey  to  the  Camp  at  Amiens.  1558 

The  King  sent  me  to  Dourlan,  under  conduct  of  Captain 
Gouast;  with  fifty  men-at-arms,  for  fear  I should  be  taken 


48 


AMBROISE  PARE 


by  the  enemy ; and  seeing  we  were  always  in  alarms  on 
the  way,  I made  my  man  get  down,  and  made  him  the 
master;  for  I got  on  his  horse,  which  carried  my  valise, 
and  could  go  well  if  we  had  to  make  our  escape,  and  I took 
his  cloak  and  hat  and  gave  him  my  mount,  which  was  a 
good  little  mare;  he  being  in  front,  you  would  have  taken 
him  for  the  master  and  me  for  the  servant.  The  garrison 
inside  Dourlan,  when  they  saw  us,  thought  we  were  the 
enemy,  and  fired  their  cannon  at  us.  Captain  Gouast,  my 
conductor,  made  signs  to  them  with  his  hat  that  we  were 
not  the  enemy ; at  last  they  ceased  firing,  and  we  entered 
Dourlan,  to  our  great  relief. 

Five  or  six  days  before  this,  a sortie  had  been  made 
from  Dourlan ; wherein  many  captains  and  brave  soldiers 
had  been  killed  or  wounded:  and  among  the  wounded  was 
Captain  Saint  Aubin,  vaillant  comme  l’  espee,  a great  friend 
of  M.  de  Guise : for  whose  sake  chiefly  the  King  had  sent 
me  there.  Who,  being  attacked  with  a quartan  fever,  yet 
left  his  bed  to  command  the  greater  part  of  his  company. 
A Spaniard,  seeing  him  in  command,  perceived  he  was  a 
captain,  and  shot  him  through  the  neck  with  an  arquebus. 
Captain  Saint  Aubin  thought  himself  killed:  and  by  this 
fright  I protest  to  God  he  lost  his  quartan  fever,  and  was 
forever  free  of  it.  I dressed  him,  with  Antoine  Portail, 
surgeon-in-ordinary  of  the  King;  and  many  other  soldiers. 
Some  died,  others  got  off  with  the  loss  of  an  arm  or  a 
leg  or  an  eye,  and  said  they  had  got  off  cheap,  to  be  alive 
at  all.  Then,  the  enemy  having  broken  up  their  camp,  I 
returned  to  Paris. 

I say  nothing  here  of  mon  petit  maistre,  who  was  more 
comfortable  in  his  house  than  I at  the  wars. 

The  Journey  to  Bourges.  1562 

The  King  with  his  camp  was  but  a short  time  at  Bourges, 
till  those  within  the  walls  should  surrender ; and  they  came 
out  with  their  goods  saved.  I know  nothing  worth  re- 
membering, but  that  a boy  of  the  King’s  kitchen,  having 
come  near  the  walls  of  the  town  before  the  agreement 
had  been  signed,  cried  with  a loud  voice,  “ Huguenot, 


JOURNEYS  TN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


49 


Huguenot,  shoot  here,  shoot  here,”  having  his  arm  thrown 
up  and  his  hand  spread  out;  a soldier  shot  his  hand  right 
through  with  a bullet.  When  he  was  thus  shot,  he  came 
to  find  me  to  dress  him.  And  the  Constable  seeing  the  boy- 
in  tears,  with  his  hand  all  bloody,  asked  who  had  wounded 
him : then  a gentleman  who  had  seen  him  shot  said  it  served 
him  right,  beause  he  kept  calling  “ Huguenot,  hit  here, 
aim  here.”  And  then  the  Constable  said,  this  Huguenot 
was  a good  shot  and  a good  fellow,  for  most  likely  if 
he  had  chosen  to  fire  at  the  boy’s  head,  he  would  have 
hit  it  even  more  easily  than  his  hand.  I dressed  the  kitchen 
boy,  who  was  very  ill.  He  recovered,  but  with  no  power 
in  his  hand : and  from  that  time  his  comrades  called  him 
“ Huguenot  ” : he  is  still  living  now. 

The  Journey  to  Rouen.  1562 

Now,  as  for  the  capture  of  Rouen,  they  killed  many  of  our 
men  both  before  and  at  the  attack:  and  the  very  next  day 
after  we  had  entered  the  town,  I trepanned  eight  or  nine  of 
our  men,  who  had  been  wounded  with  stones  as  they  were  on 
the  breach.  The  air  was  so  malignant,  that  many  died,  even 
of  quite  small  wounds,  so  that  some  thought  the  bullets  had 
been  poisoned:  and  those  within  the  town  said  the  like  of 
us;  for  though  they  had  within  the  town  all  that  was  need- 
ful, yet  all  the  same  they  died  like  those  outside. 

The  King  of  Navarre  was  wounded,  some  days  before  the 
attack,  with  a bullet  in  the  shoulder.  I visited  him,  and 
helped  to  dress  him,  with  one  of  his  own  surgeons,  Master 
Gilbert,  one  of  the  chief  men  of  Montpellier,  and  others. 
They  could  not  find  the  bullet.  I searched  for  it  very  ac- 
curately, and  found  reason  to  believe  it  had  entered  at  the 
top  of  the  arm,  by  the  head  of  the  bone,  and  had  passed  into 
the  hollow  part  of  the  bone,  which  was  why  they  could  not 
find  it;  and  most  of  them  said  it  had  entered  his  body  and 
was  lost  in  it.  M.  le  Prince  de  La  Roche-sur-Yon,  who 
dearly  loved  the  King  of  Navarre,  drew  me  aside  and  asked 
if  the  wound  were  mortal.  I told  him  yes,  because  all  wounds 
of  great  joints,  and  especially  contused  wounds,  were  mor- 
tal, according  to  all  those  who  have  written  about  them. 


so 


AMBROISE  PARfi 


He  asked  the  others  what  they  thought  of  it,  and  chiefly 
Master  Gilbert,  who  told  him  he  had  great  hope  his  Lord  the 
King  would  recover ; which  made  the  Prince  very  glad. 

Four  days  later,  the  King,  and  the  Queen-mother,  and 
M.  le  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  his  brother,  and  M.  le  Prince 
de  la  Roche-sur-Yon,  and  M.  de  Guise,  and  other  great  per- 
sons, after  we  had  dressed  the  King  of  Navarre,  wished 
us  to  hold  a consultation  in  their  presence,  all  the  physicians 
and  surgeons  together.  Each  of  them  said  what  he  thought, 
and  there  was  not  one  but  had  good  hope,  they  said,  that 
he  would  recover.  I persisted  always  in  the  contrary.  M. 
le  Prince,  who  loved  me,  drew  me  aside,  and  said  I was 
alone  against  the  opinion  of  all  the  others,  and  prayed  me 
not  to  be  obstinate  against  so  many  good  men.  I answered, 
When  I shall  see  good  signs  of  recovery,  I will  change  my 
mind.  Many  consultations  were  held,  and  I never  changed 
what  I said,  and  the  prognosis  I had  made  at  the  first  dress- 
ing, and  said  always  the  arm  would  fall  into  a gangrene: 
which  it  did,  for  all  the  care  they  could  give  to  it;  and  he 
rendered  his  spirit  to  God  the  eighteenth  day  after  his 
wound. 

M.  le  Prince,  having  heard  of  it,  sent  to  me  his  surgeon, 
and  his  physician,  one  Lefevre,  now  physician-in-ordinary  to 
the  King  and  Queen-mother,  to  say  he  wished  to  have  the 
bullet,  and  we  were  to  look  for  it,  to  see  where  it  was.  Then 
I was  very  glad,  and  assured  them  I should  quickly  find  it; 
which  I did  in  their  presence,  with  many  other  gentlemen : 
it  was  just  in  the  very  middle  of  the  bone.  M.  le  Prince  took 
and  showed  it  to  the  King  and  to  the  Queen,  who  all  said 
that  my  prognosis  had  come  true.  The  body  was  laid  to 
rest  at  Chateau  Gaillard:  and  I returned  to  Paris,  where 
I found  many  patients,  who  had  been  wounded  on  the 
breach  at  Rouen,  and  chiefly  Italians,  who  were  very  eager 
I should  dress  them:  which  I did  willingly.  Many  of  them 
recovered:  the  rest  died.  Mon  petit  maistre,  I think  you 
were  called  to  dress  some,  for  the  great  number  there  was 
of  them. 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


51 


The  Battle  of  Dreux.  1562 

The  day  after  the  battle  of  Dreux,  the  King  bade  me  go 
and  dress  M.  le  Comte  d’Eu,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the 
right  thigh,  near  the  hip-joint,  with  a pistol-shot:  which 
had  smashed  and  broken  the  thigh-bone  into  many  pieces : 
whereon  many  accidents  supervened,  and  at  last  death,  to 
my  great  grief.  The  day  after  I came,  I would  go  to  the 
camp  where  the  battle  had  been,  to  see  the  dead  bodies.  I 
saw,  for  a long  league  round,  the  earth  all  covered:  they 
estimated  it  at  twenty-five  thousand  men  or  more;  and  it 
was  all  done  in  less  than  two  hours.  I wish,  mon  petit 
maistre,  for  the  love  I bear  you,  you  had  been  there,  to  tell  it 
to  your  scholars  and  your  children. 

Now  while  I was  at  Dreux,  I visited  and  dressed  a great 
number  of  gentlemen,  and  poor  soldiers,  and  among  the  rest 
many  of  the  Swiss  captains.  I dressed  fourteen  all  in  one 
room,  all  wounded  with  pistol-shots  and  other  diabolical  fire- 
arms, and  not  one  of  the  fourteen  died.  M.  le  Comte  d’Eu 
being  dead,  I made  no  long  stay  at  Dreux.  Surgeons  came 
from  Paris,  who  fulfilled  their  duty  to  the  wounded,  as 
Pigray,  Cointeret,  Hubert,  and  others ; and  I returned  to 
Paris,  where  I found  many  wounded  gentlemen  who  had  re- 
treated thither  after  the  battle,  to  have  their  wounds  dressed ; 
and  I was  not  there  without  seeing  many  of  them. 

The  Journey  to  Havre  de  Grace.  1563 

And  I will  not  omit  to  tell  of  the  camp  at  Havre  de  Grace. 
When  our  artillery  came  before  the  walls  of  the  town,  the 
English  within  the  walls  killed  some  of  our  men,  and  sev- 
eral pioneers  who  were  making  gabions.  And  seeing  they 
were  so  wounded  that  there  was  no  hope  of  curing  them, 
their  comrades  stripped  them,  and  put  them  still  living  inside 
the  gabions,  which  served  to  fill  them  up.  When  the  English 
saw  that  they  could  not  withstand  our  attack,  because  they 
were  hard  hit  by  sickness,  and  especially  by  the  plague,  they 
surrendered.  The  King  gave  them  ships  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, very  glad  to  be  out  of  this  plague-stricken  place.  The 
greater  part  of  them  died,  and  they  took  the  plague  to  Eng- 


52 


AMBROISE  PAR& 


land,  and  they  have  not  got  rid  of  it  since.  Captain  Sarla- 
bous,  master  of  the  camp,  was  left  in  garrison,  with  six  en- 
signs of  infantry,  who  had  no  fear  of  the  plague;  and  they 
were  very  glad  to  get  into  the  town,  hoping  to  enjoy  them- 
selves there.  Mon  petit  maistre , if  you  had  been  there,  you 
would  have  done  as  they  did. 


The  Journey  to  Bayonne.  1564 

I went  with  the  King  on  that  journey  to  Bayonne,  when 
we  were  two  years  and  more  making  the  tour  of  well-nigh 
all  this  kingdom.  And  in  many  towns  and  villages  I was 
called  in  consultation  over  sundry  diseases,  with  the  late  M. 
Chapelain,  chief  physician  to  the  King,  and  M.  Castellan, 
chief  physician  to  the  Queen-mother;  honorable  men  and 
very  learned  in  medicine  and  surgery.  During  this  journey, 
I always  inquired  of  the  surgeons  if  they  had  noted  any- 
thing rare  in  their  practices,  so  that  I might  learn  some- 
thing new.  While  I was  at  Bayonne,  two  things  happened 
worthy  of  remark  by  young  surgeons.  The  first  is,  I dressed 
a Spanish  gentleman,  who  had  a great  and  enormous  swell- 
ing of  the  throat.  He  had  lately  been  touched  by  the  de- 
ceased King  Charles  for  the  king’s  evil.  I opened  his 
swelling.  ...  I left  him  in  the  hands  of  a surgeon  of  the 
town,  to  finish  his  cure.  M.  de  Fontaine,  Knight  of  the 
Order  of  the  King,  had  a severe  continued  pestilent  fever, 
accompanied  with  many  inflammatory  swellings  in  sundry 
parts  of  the  body.  He  had  bleeding  at  the  nose  for  two  days, 
without  ceasing,  nor  could  we  staunch  it:  and  after  this 
haemorrhage  the  fever  ceased,  with  much  sweating,  and  by 
and  bye  the  swellings  suppurated,  and  he  was  dressed  by  me, 
and  healed  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Battle  of  Saint  Denis.  1567 

As  for  the  battle  of  Saint  Denis,  there  were  many  killed 
on  both  sides.  Our  wounded  withdrew  to  Paris  to  be 
dressed,  with  the  prisoners  they  had  taken,  and  I dressed 
many  of  them.  The  King  ordered  me,  at  the  request  of 
Mme.  the  Constable’s  Lady,  to  go  to  her  house  to  dress  the 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


53 


Constable;  who  had  a pistol-shot  in  the  middle  of  the  spine 
of  his  back,  whereby  at  once  he  lost  all  feeling  and  move- 
ment in  his  thighs  and  legs  . . . because  the  spinal  cord, 
whence  arise  the  nerves  to  give  feeling  and  movement  to  the 
parts  below,  was  crushed,  broken,  and  torn  by  the  force  of 
the  bullet.  Also  he  lost  understanding  and  reason,  and  in  a 
few  days  he  died.  The  surgeons  of  Paris  were  hard  put  to 
it  for  many  days  to  treat  all  the  wounded.  I think,  mon 
petit  maistre,  you  saw  some  of  them.  I beseech  the  great 
God  of  victories,  that  we  be  never  more  employed  in  such 
misfortune  and  disaster. 


Voyage  of  the  Battle  of  Moncontour.  1569 

During  the  battle  of  Moncontour,  King  Charles  was  at 
Plessis-les-Tours,  where  he  heard  the  news  of  the  victory. 
A great  number  of  gentlemen  and  soldiers  retreated  into  the 
town  and  suburbs  of  Tours,  wounded,  to  be  dressed  and 
treated;  and  the  King  and  the  Queen-mother  bade  me  do 
my  duty  by  them,  with  other  surgeons  who  were  then  on 
duty,  as  Pigray,  du  Bois,  Portail,  and  one  Siret,  a surgeon 
of  Tours,  a man  well  versed  in  surgery,  who  was  at  this 
time  surgeon  to  the  King’s  brother.  And  for  the  multitude 
of  bad  cases  we  had  scarce  any  rest,  nor  the  physicians 
either. 

M.  le  Comte  de  Mansfeld,  Governor  of  the  Duchy  of 
Luxembourg,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  King,  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  battle,  in  the  left  arm,  with  a pistol-shot 
which  broke  a great  part  of  his  elbow;  and  he  withdrew  to 
Borgueil  near  Tours.  Then  he  sent  a gentleman  to  the  King, 
to  beg  him  to  send  one  of  his  surgeons,  to  help  him  of  his 
wound.  So  they  debated  which  surgeon  they  should  send. 
M.  le  Marechal  de  Montmorency  told  the  King  and  the 
Queen  that  they  ought  to  send  him  their  chief  surgeon ; and 
urged  that  M.  de  Mansfeld  had  done  much  toward  the 
victory. 

The  King  said  flat,  he  would  not  have  me  go,  and  wished 
me  to  stop  with  himself.  Then  the  Queen-mother  told  him 
I would  but  go  and  come  back,  and  he  must  remember  it 
was  a foreign  lord,  who  had  come,  at  the  command  of  the 


54 


AMBROISE  PARfi 


King  of  Spain,  to  help  him.  Then  he  let  me  go.  provided  I 
came  back  very  soon.  So  he  sent  for  me,  and  the  Queen- 
mother  with  him,  and  bade  me  go  and  find  the  Lord  de 
Mansfeld,  wherever  he  should  be,  to  do  all  I could  for  him 
to  heal  his  wound.  I went  to  him,  with  a letter  from  Their 
Majesties.  When  he  saw  it,  he  received  me  with  good-will, 
and  forthwith  dismissed  three  or  four  surgeons  who  were 
dressing  him ; which  was  to  my  very  great  regret,  because 
his  wound  seemed  to  me  incurable. 

Now  many  gentlemen  had  retreated  to  Borgueil,  having 
been  wounded : for  they  knew  that  M.  de  Guise  was  there, 
who  also  had  been  badly  wounded  with  a pistol-shot  through 
the  leg,  and  they  were  sure  that  he  would  have  good  sur- 
geons to  dress  him,  and  would  help  them,  as  he  is  kindly 
and  very  generous,  and  would  relieve  their  wants.  This 
he  did  with  a will,  both  for  their  eating  and  drinking, 
and  for  what  else  they  needed:  and  for  my  part,  they  had 
the  comfort  and  help  of  my  art:  some  died,  others  recovered, 
according  to  their  wounds.  M.  le  Comte  Ringrave  died, 
who  was  shot  in  the  shoulder,  like  the  King  of  Navarre 
before  Rouen.  M.  de  Bassompierre,  colonel  of  twelve 
hundred  horse,  was  wounded  by  a similar  shot,  in  the  same 
place,  as  M.  de  Mansfeld:  whom  I dressed,  and  God  healed. 
God  blessed  my  work  so  well,  that  in  three  weeks  I sent 
them  back  to  Paris:  where  I had  still  to  make  incisions  in 
M.  de  Mansfeld’s  arm,  to  remove  some  pieces  of  the  bones, 
which  were  badly  splintered,  broken,  and  carious.  He  was 
healed  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  made  me  a handsome  present, 
so  I was  well  content  with  him,  and  he  with  me;  as  he  has 
shown  me  since.  He  wrote  a letter  to  M.  le  Due  d’  Ascot, 
how  he  was  healed  of  his  wound,  and  also  M.  de  Bassom- 
pierre of  his,  and  many  others  whom  I had  dressed  after  the 
battle  of  Moncontour;  and  advised  him  to  ask  the  King 
of  France  to  let  me  visit  M.  le  Marquis  d’  Auret,  his 
brother:  which  he  did. 

The  Journey  to  Flanders.  1569 

M.  le  Due  d’  Ascot  did  not  fail  to  send  a gentleman  to 
the  King,  with  a letter  humbly  asking  he  would  do  him 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


55 


so  much  kindness  and  honour  as  to  permit  and  command 
his  chief  surgeon  to  visit  M.  le  Marquis  d’  Auret,  his  brother, 
who  had  received  a gunshot  wound  near  the  knee,  with  frac- 
ture of  the  bone,  about  seven  months  ago,  and  the  physicians 
and  surgeons  all  this  time  had  not  been  able  to  heal  him. 
The  King  sent  for  me  and  bade  me  go  and  see  M.  d’ 
Auret,  and  give  him  all  the  help  I could,  to  heal  him 
of  his  wound.  I told  him  I would  employ  all  the  little 
knowledge  it  had  pleased  God  to  give  me. 

I went  off,  escorted  by  two  gentlemen,  to  the  Chateau 
d’  Auret,  which  is  a league  and  a half  from  Mons  in 
Hainault,  where  M.  le  Marquis  was  lying.  So  soon  as  I 
had  come,  I visited  him,  and  told  him  the  King  had  com- 
manded me  to  come  and  see  him  and  dress  his  wound.  He 
said  he  was  very  glad  I had  come,  and  was  much  beholden 
to  the  King,  who  had  done  him  so  much  honour  as  to  send 
me  to  him. 

I found  him  in  a high  fever,  his  eyes  deep  sunken,  with 
a moribund  and  yellowish  face,  his  tongue  dry  and  parched, 
and  the  whole  body  much  wasted  and  lean,  the  voice  low  as 
of  a man  very  near  death:  and  I found  his  thigh  much 
inflamed,  suppurating,  and  ulcerated,  discharging  a green- 
ish and  very  offensive  sanies.  I probed  it  with  a silver 
probe,  wherewith  I found  a large  cavity  in  the  middle  of 
the  thigh,  and  others  round  the  knee,  sanious  and  cunicu- 
late:  also  several  scales  of  bone,  some  loose,  others  not.  The 
leg  was  greatly  swelled,  and  imbued  with  a pituitous  humor 
and  bent  and  drawn  back.  There  was  a large 
bedsore;  he  could  rest  neither  day  nor  night;  and  had  no 
appetite  to  eat,  but  very  thirsty.  I was  told  he  often  fell 
into  a faintness  of  the  heart,  and  sometimes  as  in  epilepsy: 
and  often  he  felt  sick,  with  such  trembling  he  could  not 
carry  his  hands  to  his  mouth.  Seeing  and  considering  all 
these  great  complications,  and  the  vital  powers  thus  broken 
down,  truly  I was  very  sorry  I had  come  to  him,  because 
it  seemed  to  me  there  was  little  hope  he  would  escape 
death.  All  the  same,  to  give  him  courage  and  good  hope, 
I told  him  I would  soon  set  him  on  his  legs,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  and  the  help  of  his  physicians  and  surgeons. 

Having  seen  him,  I went  a walk  in  a garden,  and  prayed 


56 


AMBROISE  PARfe 


God  He  would  show  me  this  grace,  that  he  should  recover; 
and  that  He  would  bless  our  hands  and  our  medicaments, 
to  fight  such  a complication  of  diseases.  I discussed  in 
my  mind  the  means  I must  take  to  do  this.  They  called 
me  to  dinner.  I came  into  the  kitchen,  and  there  I saw, 
taken  out  of  a great  pot,  half  a sheep,  a quarter  of  veal, 
three  great  pieces  of  beef,  two  fowls,  and  a very  big  piece 
of  bacon,  with  abundance  of  good  herbs : then  I said  to 
myself  that  the  broth  of  the  pot  would  be  full  of  juices,  and 
very  nourishing. 

After  dinner,  we  began  our  consultation,  all  the  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  together,  in  the  presence  of  M.  le  Due 
d’  Ascot  and  some  gentlemen  who  were  with  him.  I began 
to  say  to  the  surgeons  that  I was  astonished  they  had 
not  made  incisions  in  M.  le  Marquis’  thigh,  seeing  that 
it  was  all  suppurating,  and  the  thick  matter  in  it  very  foetid 
and  offensive,  showing  it  had  long  been  pent  up  there; 
and  that  I had  found  with  the  probe  caries  of  the  bone, 
and  scales  of  bone,  which  were  already  loose.  They  an- 
swered me:  “Never  would  he  consent  to  it”;  indeed,  it  was 
near  two  months  since  they  had  been  able  to  get  leave 
to  put  clean  sheets  on  his  bed ; and  one  scarce  dared  touch 
the  coverlet,  so  great  was  his  pain.  Then  I said,  “ To  heal 
him,  we  must  touch  something  else  than  the  coverlet  of  his 
bed.”  Each  said  what  he  thought  of  the  malady  of  the 
patient,  and  in  conclusion  they  all  held  it  hopeless.  I 
told  them  there  was  still  some  hope,  because  he  was  young, 
and  God  and  Nature  sometimes  do  things  which  seem 
to  physicians  and  surgeons  impossible. 

To  restore  the  warmth  and  nourishment  of  the  body, 
general  frictions  must  be  made  with  hot  cloths,  above, 
below,  to  right,  to  left,  and  around,  to  draw  the  blood  and 
the  vital  spirits  from  within  outward.  . . . For  the  bed- 
sore, he  must  be  put  in  a fresh,  soft  bed,  with  clean  shirt 
and  sheets.  . . . Having  discoursed  of  the  causes  and 

complications  of  his  malady,  I said  we  must  cure  them  by 
their  contraries ; and  must  first  ease  the  pain,  making 
openings  in  the  thigh  to  let  out  the  matter.  . . . Second- 
ly, having  regard  to  the  great  swelling  and  coldness  of  the 
limb,  we  must  apply  hot  bricks  round  it,  and  sprinkle  them 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


57 


with  a decoction  of  nerval  herbs  in  wine  and  vinegar,  and 
wrap  them  in  napkins ; and  to  his  feet,  an  earthenware  bottle 
filled  with  the  decoction,  corked,  and  wrapped  in  cloths. 
Then  the  thigh,  and  the  whole  of  the  leg,  must  be  fomented 
with  a decoction  made  of  sage,  rosemary,  thyme,  lavender, 
flowers  of  chamomile  and  melilot,  red  roses  boiled  in  white 
wine,  with  a drying  powder  made  of  oak-ashes  and  a little 
vinegar  and  half  a handful  of  salt.  . . . Thirdly,  we 

must  apply  to  the  bedsore  a large  plaster  made  of  the  desic- 
cative red  ointment  and  of  Unguentum  Comitissce,  equal 
parts,  mixed  together,  to  ease  his  pain  and  dry  the  ulcer; 
and  he  must  have  a little  pillow  of  down,  to  keep  all  pres- 
sure off  it.  And  for  the  strengthening  of  his 

heart,  we  must  apply  over  it  a refrigerant  of  oil  of  water- 
lilies,  ointment  of  roses,  and  a little  saffron,  dissolved  in 
rose-vinegar  and  treacle,  spread  on  a piece  of  red  cloth. 
For  the  syncope,  from  exhaustion  of  the  natural  forces, 
troubling  the  brain,  he  must  have  good  nourishment  full  of 
juices,  as  raw  eggs,  plums  stewed  in  wine  and  sugar,  broth 
of  the  meat  of  the  great  pot,  whereof  I have  already  spoken; 
the  white  meat  of  fowls,  partridges’  wings  minced  small,  and 
other  roast  meats  easy  to  digest,  as  veal,  kid,  pigeons, 
partridges,  thrushes,  and  the  like,  with  sauce  of  orange, 
verjuice,  sorrel,  sharp  pomegranates;  or  he  may  have  them 
boiled  with  good  herbs,  as  lettuce,  purslain,  chicory,  bugloss, 
marigold,  and  the  like.  At  night  he  can  take  barley-water,, 
with  juice  of  sorrel  and  of  water-lilies,  of  each  two  ounces, 
with  four  or  five  grains  of  opium,  and  the  four  cold  seeds 
crushed,  of  each  half  an  ounce ; which  is  a good  nourishing 
remedy  and  will  make  him  sleep.  His  bread  to  be  farm- 
house bread,  neither  too  stale  nor  too  fresh.  For  the  great 
pain  in  his  head,  his  hair  must  be  cut,  and  his  head  rubbed 
with  rose-vinegar  just  warm,  and  a double  cloth  steeped  in 
it  and  put  there;  also  a forehead-cloth,  of  oil  of  roses  and 
water-lilies  and  poppies,  and  a little  opium  and  rose-vinegar, 
with  a little  camphor,  and  changed  from  time  to  time. 
Moreover,  we  must  allow  him  to  smell  flowers  of  henbane 
and  water-lilies,  bruised  with  vinegar  and  rose-water,  with  a 
little  camphor,  all  wrapped  in  a handkerchief,  to  he  held  some 
time  to  his  nose.  . . . And  we  must  make  artificial  rain, 


58 


AMBROISE  PARE 


pouring  water  from  some  high  place  into  a cauldron,  that 
he  may  hear  the  sound  of  it;  by  which  means  sleep  shall 
be  provoked  on  him.  As  for  the  contraction  of  his  leg,  there 
is  hope  of  righting  it  when  we  have  let  out  the  pus  and  other 
humors  pent  up  in  the  thigh,  and  have  rubbed  the  whole  knee 
with  ointment  of  mallows,  and  oil  of  lilies,  and  a little 
eau-de-vie,  and  wrapped  it  in  black  wool  with  the  grease  left 
in  it;  and  if  we  put  under  the  knee  a feather  pillow  doubled, 
little  by  little  we  shall  straighten  the  leg. 

This  my  discourse  was  well  approved  by  the  physicians 
and  surgeons. 

The  consultation  ended,  we  went  back  to  the  patient, 
and  I made  three  openings  in  his  thigh.  . . . Two  or 
three  hours  later,  I got  a bed  made  near  his  old  one, 
with  fair  white  sheets  on  it;  then  a strong  man  put  him 
in  it,  and  he  was  thankful  to  be  taken  out  of  his  foul 
stinking  bed.  Soon  after,  he  asked  to  sleep ; which  he 
did  for  near  four  hours : and  everybody  in  the  house  began 
to  feel  happy,  and  especially  M.  le  Due  d’  Ascot,  his  brother. 

The  following  days,  I made  injections,  into  the  depth 
and  cavities  of  the  ulcers,  of  /Egyptiacum  dissolved  some- 
times in  eau-de-vie,  other  times  in  wine.  I applied  com- 
presses to  the  bottom  of  the  sinuous  tracks,  to  cleanse  and 
dry  the  soft  spongy  flesh,  and  hollow  leaden  tents,  that 
the  sanies  might  always  have  a way  out;  and  above  them 
a large  plaster  of  Diacalcitheos  dissolved  in  wine.  And  I 
bandaged  him  so  skilfully  that  he  had  no  pain;  and  when 
the  pain  was  gone,  the  fever  began  at  once  to  abate. 
Then  I gave  him  wine  to  drink  moderately  tempered  with 
water,  knowing  it  would  restore  and  quicken  the  vital  forces. 
And  all  that  we  agreed  in  consultation  was  done  in  due  time 
and  order;  and  so  soon  as  his  pains  and  fever  ceased,  he  be- 
gan steadily  to  amend.  He  dismissed  two  of  his  surgeons,  and 
one  of  his  physicians,  so  that  we  were  but  three  with  him. 

Now  I stopped  there  about  two  months,  not  without  seeing 
many  patients,  both  rich  and  poor,  who  came  to  me  from 
three  or  four  leagues  round.  He  gave  food  and  drink  to 
the  needy,  and  commended  them  all  to  me,  asking  me  to 
help  them  for  his  sake.  I protest  I refused  not  one,  and  did 
for  them  all  I could,  to  his  great  pleasure.  Then,  when  J 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


saw  him  beginning  to  be  well,  I told  him  we  must  have  viols 
and  violins,  and  a buffoon  to  make  him  laugh : which  he  did. 
In  one  month,  we  got  him  into  a chair,  and  he  had  himself 
carried  about  in  his  garden  and  at  the  door  of  his  chateau, 
to  see  everybody  passing  by. 

The  villagers  of  two  or  three  leagues  round,  na  v they 
could  have  sight  of  him,  came  on  holidays  to  sing  and  dance, 
men  and  women,  pell-mell  for  a frolic,  rejoiced  at  his  good 
convalescence,  all  glad  to  see  him,  not  without  plenty  of 
laughter  and  plenty  to  drink.  He  always  gave  them  a hogs- 
head of  beer;  and  they  all  drank  merrily  to  his  health.  And 
the  citizens  of  Mons  in  Hainault,  and  other  gentlemen,  his 
neighbours,  came  to  see  him  for  the  wonder  of  it,  as  a man 
come  out  of  the  grave;  and  from  the  time  he  was  well,  he 
was  never  without  company.  When  one  went  out,  another 
came  in  to  visit  him ; his  table  was  always  well  covered.  He 
was  dearly  loved  both  by  the  nobility  and  by  the  common 
people;  as  for  his  generosity,  so  for  his  handsome  face  and 
his  courtesy : with  a kind  look  and  a gracious  word  for  every- 
body, so  that  all  who  saw  him  had  perforce  to  love  him. 

The  chief  citizens  of  Mons  came  one  Saturday,  to  beg 
him  let  me  go  to  Mons,  where  they  wished  to  entertain  me 
with  a banquet,  for  their  love  of  him.  He  told  them  he 
would  urge  me  to  go,  which  he  did ; but  I said  such  great 
honour  was  not  for  me,  moreover  they  could  not  feast  me 
better  than  he  did.  Again  he  urged  me,  with  much  affec- 
tion, to  go  there,  to  please  him:  and  I agreed.  The  next 
day,  they  came  to  fetch  me  with  two  carriages : and  when 
we  got  to  Mons,  we  found  the  dinner  ready,  and  the  chief 
men  of  the  town,  with  their  ladies,  who  attended  me  with 
great  devotion.  We  sat  down  to  dinner,  and  they  put  me  at 
the  top  of  the  table,  and  all  drank  to  me,  and  to  the  health 
of  M.  le  Marquis  d’Auret:  saying  he  was  happy,  and  they 
with  him,  to  have  had  me  to  put  him  on  his  legs  again ; 
and  truly  the  whole  company  were  full  of  honour  and  love 
for  him.  After  dinner,  they  brought  me  back  to  the  Chateau 
d’Auret,  where  M.  le  Marquis  was  awaiting  me ; who  af- 
fectionately welcomed  me,  and  would  hear  what  we  had 
done  at  our  banquet;  and  I told  him  all  the  company  had 
drunk  many  times  to  his  health. 


60 


AMBROISE  PARE 


In  six  weeks  he  began  to  stand  a little  on  crutches,  and 
to  put  on  fat  and  get  a good  natural  colour.  He  would 
go  to  Beaumont,  his  brother’s  place ; and  was  taken  there 
in  a carrying-chair,  by  eight  men  at  a time.  And  the  peasants 
in  the  villages  through  which  we  passed,  knowing  it  was 
M.  le  Marquis,  fought  who  should  carry  him,  and  would 
have  us  drink  with  them;  but  it  was  only  beer.  Yet  I 
believe  if  they  had  possessed  wine,  even  hippocras,  they 
would  have  given  it  to  us  with  a will.  And  all  were  right 
glad  to  see  him,  and  all  prayed  God  for  him. 

When  we  came  to  Beaumont,  everybody  came  out  to 
meet  us  and  pay  their  respects  to  him,  and  prayed  God 
bless  him  and  keep  him  in  good  health.  We  came  to  the 
chateau,  and  found  there  more  than  fifty  gentlemen  whom 
M.  le  Due  d’ Ascot  had  invited  to  come  and  be  happy 
with  his  brother;  and  he  kept  open  house  three  whole 
days.  After  dinner,  the  gentlemen  used  to  tilt  at  the  ring 
and  play  with  the  foils,  and  were  full  of  joy  at  the  sight 
of  M.  d’Auret,  for  they  had  heard  he  would  never  leave 
his  bed  or  be  healed  of  his  wound.  I was  always  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  table,  and  everybody  drank  to  him  and  to 
me,  thinking  to  make  me  drunk,  which  they  could  not;  for 
I drank  only  as  I always  do. 

A few  days  later,  we  went  back ; and  I took  my  leave 
of  Mdme.  la  Duchesse  d’Ascot,  who  drew  a diamond  from 
her  finger,  and  gave  it  me  in  gratitude  for  my  good  care 
of  her  brother:  and  the  diamond  was  worth  more  than 
fifty  crowns.  M.  d’  Auret  was  ever  getting  better,  and 
was  walking  all  alone  on  crutches  round  his  garden.  Many 
times  I asked  him  to  let  me  go  back  to  Paris,  telling  him 
his  physician  and  his  surgeon  could  do  all  that  was  now 
wanted  for  his  wound:  and  to  make  a beginning  to  get 
away  from  him,  I asked  him  to  let  me  go  and  see  the  town 
of  Antwerp.  To  this  he  agreed  at  once,  and  told  his  steward 
to  escort  me  there,  with  two  pages.  We  passed  through 
Malines  and  Brussels,  where  the  chief  citizens  of  the 
town  begged  us  to  let  them  know  of  it  when  we  returned; 
for  they  too  wished,  like  those  of  Mons,  to  have  a festival 
for  me.  I gave  them  very  humble  thanks,  saying  I did 
not  deserve  such  honour.  I was  two  days  and  a half 


JOURNEYS  IN  DIVERSE  PLACES 


61 


seeing  the  town  of  Antwerp,  where  certain  merchants, 
knowing  the  steward,  prayed  he  would  let  them  have  the 
honour  of  giving  us  a dinner  or  a supper:  it  was  who 
should  have  us,  and  they  were  all  truly  glad  to  hear  how 
well  M.  d’  Auret  was  doing,  and  made  more  of  me  than 
I asked. 

On  my  return,  I found  M.  le  Marquis  enjoying  himself: 
and  five  or  six  days  later  I asked  his  leave  to  go,  which 
he  gave,  said  he,  with  great  regret.  And  he  made  me 
a handsome  present  of  great  value,  and  sent  me  back,  with 
the  steward,  and  two  pages,  to  my  house  in  Paris. 

I forgot  to  say  that  the  Spaniards  have  since  ruined 
and  demolished  his  Chateau  d’  Auret,  sacked,  pillaged, 
and  burned  all  the  houses  and  villages  belonging  to  him: 
because  he  would  not  be  of  their  wicked  party  in  their 
assassinations  and  ruin  of  the  Netherlands. 

I have  published  this  Apologia,  that  all  men  may  know 
on  what  footing  I have  always  gone : and  sure  there  is 
no  man  so  touchy  not  to  take  in  good  part  what  I have 
said.  For  I have  but  told  the  truth ; and  the  purport  of 
my  discourse  is  plain  for  all  men  to  see,  and  the  facts 
themselves  are  my  guarantee  against  all  calumnies. 


ON  THE  MOTION  OF  THE  HEART 
AND  BLOOD  IN  ANIMALS 

BY 

WILLIAM  HARVEY 
TRANSLATED  BY 

ROBERT  WILLIS 

AND  REVISED  BY 

ALEXANDER  BOWIE 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


William  Harvey,  whose  epoch-making  treatise  announcing  and 
demonstrating  the  circulation  of  the  blood  is  here  printed,  was 
born  at  Folkestone,  Kent,  England,  April  i,  1578.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  King’s  School,  Canterbury,  and  at  Gonville  and  Caius 
College,  Cambridge ; and  studied  medicine  on  the  Continent,  re- 
ceiving the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  the  University  of  Padua.  He 
took  the  same  degree  later  at  both  the  English  universities.  After 
his  return  to  England  he  became  Fellow  of  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians, physician  to  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital,  and  Lumleian 
lecturer  at  the  College  of  Physicians.  It  was  in  this  last  capacity 
that  he  delivered,  in  1616,  the  lectures  in  which  he  first  gave 
public  notice  of  his  theories  on  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  The 
notes  of  these  lectures  are  still  preserved  in  the  British  Museum. 

In  1618  Harvey  was  appointed  physician  extraordinary  to 
James  I,  and  he  remained  in  close  professional  relations  to  the 
royal  family  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  being  present  at 
the  battle  of  Edgehill.  By  mandate  of  Charles  I,  he  was,  for  a 
short  time,  Warden  of  Merton  College,  Oxford  (1645-6),  and, 
when  he  was  too  infirm  to  undertake  the  duties,  he  was  offered 
the  Presidency  of  the  College  of  Physicians.  He  died  on  June  5, 
1657. 

Harvey’s  famous  “Exercitatio  Anatomica  de  Motu  Cordis  et 
Sanguinis  in  Animalibus  ” was  published  in  Latin  at  Frankfort  in 
1628.  The  discovery  was  received  with  great  interest,  and  in 
his  own  country  was  accepted  at  once;  on  the  Continent  it  won 
favor  more  slowly.  Before  his  death,  however,  the  soundness  of 
his  views  was  acknowledged  by  the  medical  profession  through- 
out Europe,  and  “it  remains  to  this  day  the  greatest  of  the 
discoveries  of  physiology,  and  its  whole  honor  belongs  to  Harvey ." 


DEDICATION 


TO  HIS  VERY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

DOCTOR  ARGENT,  THE  EXCELLENT  AND 
ACCOMPLISHED  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS, 
AND  TO  OTHER  LEARNED  PHYSICIANS,  HIS 
MOST  ESTEEMED  COLLEAGUES. 

I have  already  and  repeatedly  presented  you,  my  learned 
friends,  with  my  new  views  of  the  motion  and  function  of  the 
heart,  in  my  anatomical  lectures ; but  having  now  for  more  than 
nine  years  confirmed  these  views  by  multiplied  demonstrations 
in  your  presence,  illustrated  them  by  arguments,  and  freed  them 
from  the  objections  of  the  most  learned  and  skilful  anatomists, 
I at  length  yield  to  the  requests,  I might  say  entreaties,  of 
many,  and  here  present  them  for  general  consideration  in  this 
treatise. 

Were  not  the  work  indeed  presented  through  you,  my  learned 
friends,  I should  scarce  hope  that  it  could  come  out  scatheless 
and  complete ; for  you  have  in  general  been  the  faithful  witnesses 
of  almost  all  the  instances  from  which  I have  either  collected  the 
truth  or  confuted  error.  You  have  seen  my  dissections,  and  at 
my  demonstrations  of  all  that  I maintain  to  be  objects  of  sense, 
you  have  been  accustomed  to  stand  by  and  bear  me  out  with 
your  testimony.  And  as  this  book  alone  declares  the  blood 
to  course  and  revolve  by  a new  route,  very  different  from  the 
ancient  and  beaten  pathway  trodden  for  so  many  ages,  and 
illustrated  by  such  a host  of  learned  and  distinguished  men,  I was 
greatly  afraid  lest  I might  be  charged  with  presumption  did  I 
lay  my  work  before  the  public  at  home,  or  send  it  beyond  seas 
for  impression,  unless  I had  first  proposed  the  subject  to  you, 
had  confirmed  its  conclusions  by  ocular  demonstrations  in  your 
presence,  had  replied  to  your  doubts  and  objections,  and  secured 
the  assent  and  support  of  our  distinguished  President.  For  I 
was  most  intimately  persuaded,  that  if  I could  make  good  my 
proposition  before  you  and  our  College,  illustrious  by  its  numer- 

65 

(3)  HC  XXXVIII 


66 


DEDICATION 


ous  body  of  learned  individuals,  I had  less  to  fear  from  others. 
I even  ventured  to  hope  that  I should  have  the  comfort  of  find- 
ing all  that  you  had  granted  me  in  your  sheer  love  of  truth, 
conceded  by  others  who  were  philosophers  like  yourselves.  True 
philosophers,  who  are  only  eager  for  truth  and  knowledge, 
never  regard  themselves  as  already  so  thoroughly  informed, 
but  that  they  welcome  further  information  from  whomsoever 
and  from  wheresoever  it  may  come;  nor  are  they  so  narrow- 
minded as  to  imagine  any  of  the  arts  or  sciences  transmitted  to 
us  by  the  ancients,  in  such  a state  of  forwardness  or  complete- 
ness, that  nothing  is  left  for  the  ingenuity  and  industry  of  others. 
On  the  contrary,  very  many  maintain  that  all  we  know  is  still 
infinitely  less  than  all  that  still  remains  unknown;  nor  do 
philosophers  pin  their  faith  to  others’  precepts  in  such  wise  that 
they  lose  their  liberty,  and  cease  to  give  credence  to  the  con- 
clusions of  their  proper  senses.  Neither  do  they  swear  such 
fealty  to  their  mistress  Antiquity,  that  they  openly,  and  in  sight 
«f  all,  deny  and  desert  their  friend  Truth.  But  even  as  they  see 
that  the  credulous  and  vain  are  disposed  at  the  first  blush  to 
accept  and  believe  everything  that  is  proposed  to  them,  so  do 
they  observe  that  the  dull  and  unintellectual  are  indisposed  to 
see  what  lies  before  their  eyes,  and  even  deny  the  light  of  the 
noonday  sun.  They  teach  us  in  our  course  of  philosophy  to 
sedulously  avoid  the  fables  of  the  poets  and  the  fancies  of  the 
vulgar,  as  the  false  conclusions  of  the  sceptics.  And  then  the 
studious  and  good  and  true,  never  suffer  their  minds  to  be 
warped  by  the  passions  of  hatred  and  envy,  which  unfit  men 
duly  to  weigh  the  arguments  that  are  advanced  in  behalf  of 
truth,  or  to  appreciate  the  proposition  that  is  even  fairly  demon- 
strated. Neither  do  they  think  it  unworthy  of  them  to  change 
their  opinion  if  truth  and  undoubted  demonstration  require  them 
to  do  so.  They  do  not  esteem  it  discreditable  to  desert  error, 
though  sanctioned  by  the  highest  antiquity,  for  they  know  full 
well  that  to  err,  to  be  deceived,  is  human ; that  many  things  are 
discovered  by  accident  and  that  many  may  be  learned  in- 
differently from  any  quarter,  by  an  old  man  from  a youth,  by  a 
person  of  understanding  from  one  of  inferior  capacity. 

My  dear  colleagues,  I had  no  purpose  to  swell  this  treatise 
into  a large  volume  by  quoting  the  names  and  writings  of  an- 
atomists, or  to  make  a parade  of  the  strength  of  my  memory, 


DEDICATION 


67 


the  extent  of  my  reading,  and  the  amount  of  my  pains;  because 
I profess  both  to  learn  and  to  teach  anatomy,  not  from  books 
but  from  dissections;  not  from  the  positions  of  philosophers  but 
from  the  fabric  of  nature;  and  then  because  I do  not  think  it 
right  or  proper  to  strive  to  take  from  the  ancients  any  honor 
that  is  their  due,  nor  yet  to  dispute  with  the  modems,  and  enter 
into  controversy  with  those  who  have  excelled  in  anatomy  and 
been  my  teachers.  I would  not  charge  with  wilful  falsehood  any 
one  who  was  sincerely  anxious  for  truth,  nor  lay  it  to  any  one’s 
door  as  a crime  that  he  had  fallen  into  error.  I avow  myself 
the  partisan  of  truth  alone;  and  I can  indeed  say  that  I have 
used  all  my  endeavours,  bestowed  all  my  pains  on  an  attempt 
to  produce  something  that  should  be  agreeable  to  the  good, 
profitable  to  the  learned,  and  useful  to  letters. 

Farewell,  most  worthy  Doctors, 

And  think  kindly  of  your  Anatomist, 

William  Harvey. 


INTRODUCTION 


As  we  are  about  to  discuss  the  motion,  action,  and  use  of 
the  heart  and  arteries,  it  is  imperative  on  us  first  to  state  what 
has  been  thought  of  these  things  by  others  in  their  writings, 
and  what  has  been  held  by  the  vulgar  and  by  tradition,  in  order 
that  what  is  true  may  be  confirmed,  and  what  is  false  set  right 
by  dissection,  multiplied  experience,  and  accurate  observation. 

Almost  all  anatomists,  physicians,  and  philosophers  up  to  the 
present  time  have  supposed,  with  Galen,  that  the  object  of  the 
pulse  was  the  same  as  that  of  respiration,  and  only  differed  in 
one  particular,  this  being  conceived  to  depend  on  the  animal, 
the  respiration  on  the  vital  faculty ; the  two,  in  all  other  respects, 
whether  with  reference  to  purpose  or  to  motion,  comporting 
themselves  alike.  Whence  it  is  affirmed,  as  by  Hieronymus 
Fabricius  of  Aquapendente,  in  his  book  on  “Respiration,”  which 
has  lately  appeared,  that  as  the  pulsation  of  the  heart  and 
arteries  does  not  suffice  for  the  ventilation  and  refrigeration  of 
the  blood,  therefore  were  the  lungs  fashioned  to  surround  the 
heart.  From  this  it  appears  that  whatever  has  hitherto  been 
said  upon  the  systole  and  diastole,  or  on  the  motion  of  the 
heart  and  arteries,  has  been  said  with  especial  reference  to  the 
lungs. 

But  as  the  structure  and  movements  of  the  heart  differ  from 
those  of  the  lungs,  and  the  motions  of  the  arteries  from  those 
of  the  chest,  so  it  seems  likely  that  other  ends  and  offices  will 
thence  arise,  and  that  the  pulsations  and  uses  of  the  heart,  like- 
wise of  the  arteries,  will  differ  in  many  respects  from  the  heav- 
ings  and  uses  of  the  chest  and  lungs.  For  did  the  arterial 
pulse  and  the  respiration  serve  the  same  ends ; did  the  arteries  in 
their  diastole  take  air  into  their  cavities,  as  commonly  stated, 
and  in  their  systole  emit  fuliginous  vapours  by  the  same  pores 
of  the  flesh  and  skin;  and  further,  did  they,  in  the  time  inter- 
mediate between  the  diastole  and  the  systole,  contain  air,  and 

68 


INTRODUCTION 


69 


at  all  times  either  air  or  spirits,  or  fuliginous  vapours,  what 
should  then  be  said  to  Galen,  who  wrote,  a book  on  purpose  to 
show  that  by  nature  the  arteries  contained  blood,  and  nothing 
but  blood,  and  consequently  neither  spirits  nor  air,  as  may 
readily  be  gathered  from  the  experiments  and  reasonings  con- 
tained in  the  same  book?  Now,  if  the  arteries  are  filled  in 
the  diastole  with  air  then  taken  into  them  (a  larger  quantity 
of  air  penetrating  when  the  pulse  is  large  and  full),  it  must  come 
to  pass  that  if  you  plunge  into  a bath  of  water  or  of  oil 
when  the  pulse  is  strong  and  full,  it  ought  forthwith  to 
become  either  smaller  or  much  slower,  since  the  circumambient 
bath  will  render  it  either  difficult  or  impossible  for  the  air  to 
penetrate.  In  like  manner,  as  all  the  arteries,  those  that  are 
deep-seated  as  well  as  those  that  are  superficial,  are  dilated  at 
the  same  instant  and  with  the  same  rapidity,  how  is  it  possible 
that  air  should  penetrate  to  the  deeper  parts  as  freely  and 
quickly  through  the  skin,  flesh,  and  other  structures,  as  through 
the  cuticle  alone?  And  how  should  the  arteries  of  the  foetus 
draw  air  into  their  cavities  through  the  abdomen  of  the  mother 
and  the  body  of  the  womb?  And  how  should  seals,  whales, 
dolphins,  and  other  cetaceans,  and  fishes  of  every  description, 
living  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  take  in  and  emit  air  by  the 
diastole  and  systole  of  their  arteries  through  the  infinite  mass 
of  water?  For  to  say  that  they  absorb  the  air  that  is  present 
in  the  water,  and  emit  their  fumes  into  this  medium,  were  to 
utter  something  like  a figment.  And  if  the  arteries  in  their 
systole  expel  fuliginous  vapours  from  their  cavities  through  the 
pores  of  the  flesh  and  skin,  why  not  the  spirits,  which  are  said 
to  be  contained  in  those  vessels,  at  the  same  time,  since  spirits 
are  much  more  subtile  than  fuliginous  vapours  or  smoke?  And 
if  the  arteries  take  in  and  cast  out  air  in  the  systole  and  diastole, 
like  the  lungs  in  the  process  of  respiration,  why  do  they  not  do 
the  same  thing  when  a wound  is  made  in  one  of  them,  as  in  the 
operation  of  arteriotomy?  When  the  windpipe  is  divided,  it 
is  sufficiently  obvious  that  the  air  enters  and  returns  through 
the  wound  by  two  opposite  movements ; but  when  an  artery  is 
divided,  it  is  equally  manifest  that  blood  escapes  in  one  con- 
tinuous stream,  and  that  no  air  either  enters  or  issues.  If  the 
pulsations  of  the  arteries  fan  and  refrigerate  the  several  parts  of 
the  body  as  the  lungs  do  the  heart,  how  comes  it,  as  is  com- 


70 


INTRODUCTION 


monly  said,  that  the  arteries  carry  the  vital  blood  into  the  dif- 
ferent parts,  abundantly  charged  with  vital  spirits,  which  cherish 
the  heat  of  these  parts,  sustain  them  when  asleep,  and  recruit 
them  when  exhausted?  How  should  it  happen  that,  if  you  tie 
the  arteries,  immediately  the  parts  not  only  become  torpid,  and 
frigid,  and  look  pale,  but  at  length  cease  even  to  be  nourished? 
This,  according  to  Galen,  is  because  they  are  deprived  of  the 
heat  which  flowed  through  all  parts  from  the  heart,  as  its  source ; 
whence  it  would  appear  that  the  arteries  rather  carry  warmth 
to  the  parts  than  serve  for  any  fanning  or  refrigeration.  Besides, 
how  can  their  diastole  draw  spirits  from  the  heart  to  warm 
the  body  and  its  parts,  and  means  of  cooling  them  from  with- 
out? Still  further,  although  some  affirm  that  the  lungs,  arteries, 
and  heart  have  all  the  same  offices,  they  yet  maintain  that  the 
heart  is  the  workshop  of  the  spirits,  and  that  the  arteries  con- 
tain and  transmit  them;  denying,  however,  in  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  Columbus,  that  the  lungs  can  either  make  or  con- 
tain spirits.  They  then  assert,  with  Galen,  against  Erasistratus, 
that  it  is  the  blood,  not  spirits,  which  is  contained  in  the  arteries. 

These  opinions  are  seen  to  be  so  incongruous  and  mutually 
subversive,  that  every  one  of  them  is  justly  brought  under  sus- 
picion. That  it  is  blood  and  blood  alone  which  is  contained  in 
the  arteries  is  made  manifest  by  the  experiment  of  Galen,  by 
arteriotomy,  and  by  wounds;  for  from  a single  divided  artery, 
as  Galen  himself  affirms  in  more  than  one  place,  the  whole  of 
the  blood  may  be  withdrawn  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  or 
less.  The  experiment  of  Galen  alluded  to  is  this : “ If  you 
include  a portion  of  an  artery  between  two  ligatures,  and  slit 
it  open  lengthwise  you  will  find  nothing  but  blood  ” ; and  thus 
he  proves  that  the  arteries  contain  only  blood.  And  we  too  may 
be  permitted  to  proceed  by  a like  train  of  reasoning:  if  we  find 
the  same  blood  in  the  arteries  as  in  the  veins,  after  having  tied 
them  in  the  same  way,  as  I have  myself  repeatedly  ascertained, 
both  in  the  dead  body  and  in  living  animals,  we  may  fairly 
conclude  that  the  arteries  contain  the  same  blood  as  the  veins, 
and  nothing  but  the  same  blood.  Some,  whilst  they  attempt  to 
lessen  the  difficulty,  affirm  that  the  blood  is  spirituous  and  arteri- 
ous,  and  virtually  concede  that  the  office  of  the  arteries  is  to 
carry  blood  from  the  heart  into  the  whole  of  the  body,  and  that 
they  are  therefore  filled  with  blood;  for  spirituous  blood  is  not 


INTRODUCTION 


71 


the  less  blood  on  that  account.  And  no  one  denies  the  blood  as 
such,  even  the  portion  of  it  which  flows  in  the  veins,  is  imbued 
with  spirits.  But  if  that  portion  of  it  which  is  contained  in  the 
arteries  be  richer  in  spirits,  it  is  still  to  be  believed  that  these 
spirits  are  inseparable  from  the  blood,  like  those  in  the  veins ; 
that  the  blood  and  spirits  constitute  one  body  (like  whey  and 
butter  in  milk,  or  heat  in  hot  water),  with  which  the  arteries  are 
charged,  and  for  the  distribution  of  which  from  the  heart  they 
are  provided.  This  body  is  nothing  else  than  blood.  But  if 
this  blood  be  said  to  be  drawn  from  the  heart  into  the  arteries 
by  the  diastole  of  these  vessels,  it  is  then  assumed  that  the 
arteries  by  their  distension  are  filled  with  blood,  and  not  with 
the  surrounding  air,  as  heretofore ; ' for  if  they  be  said  also  to 
become  filled  with  air  from  the  ambient  atmosphere,  how 
and  when,  I ask,  can  they  receive  blood  from  the  heart?  If  it 
be  answered : during  the  systole,  I take  it  to  be  impossible : the 
arteries  would  then  have  to  fill  while  they  contracted,  to  fill,  and 
yet  not  become  distended.  But  if  it  be  said:  during  diastole, 
they  would  then,  and  for  two  opposite  purposes,  be  receiving 
both  blood  and  air,  and  heat  and  cold,  which  is  improbable.  Fur- 
ther when  it  is  affirmed  that  the  diastole  of  the  heart  and 
arteries  is  simultaneous,  and  the  systole  of  the  two  is  also  con- 
current, there  is  another  incongruity.  For  how  can  two  bodies 
mutually  connected,  which  are  simultaneously  distended,  at- 
tract or  draw  anything  from  one  another?  or  being  simultaneous- 
ly contracted,  receive  anything  from  each  other?  And  then  it 
seems  impossible  that  one  body  can  thus  attract  another  body 
into  itself,  so  as  to  become  distended,  seeing  that  to  be  dis- 
tended is  to  be  passive,  unless,  in  the  manner  of  a sponge,  which 
has  been  previously  compressed  by  an  external  force,  it  is  re- 
turning to  its  natural  state.  But  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that 
there  can  be  anything  of  this  kind  in  the  arteries.  The  arteries 
dilate,  because  they  are  filled  like  bladders  or  leathern  bottles; 
they  are  not  filled  because  they  expand  like  bellows.  This  I 
think  easy  of  demonstration,  and  indeed  conceive  that  I have 
already  proved  it.  Nevertheless,  in  that  book  of  Galen  headed 
“ Quod  Sanguis  continetur  in  Arteriis,”  he  quotes  an  experi- 
ment to  prove  the  contrary.  An  artery  having  been  exposed,  is 
opened  longitudinally,  and  a reed  or  other  pervious  tube  is  in- 
serted into  the  vessel  through  the  opening,  by  which  the  blood 


72 


INTRODUCTION 


is  prevented  from  being  lost,  and  the  wound  is  closed.  “ So 
long,”  he  says,  “as  things  are  thus  arranged,  the  whole  artery 
will  pulsate;  but  if  you  now  throw  a ligature  about  the  vessel 
and  tightly  compress  its  wall  over  the  tube,  you  will  no  longer 
see  the  artery  beating  beyond  the  ligature.”  I have  never  per- 
formed this  experiment  of  Galen’s  nor  do  I think  that  it  could 
very  well  be  performed  in  the  living  body,  on  account  ot  the 
profuse  flow  of  blood  that  would  take  place  from  the  vessel 
that  was  operated  on;  neither  would  the  tube  effectually  close 
the  wound  in  the  vessel  without  a ligature ; and  I cannot  doubt 
but  that  the  blood  would  be  found  to  flow  out  between  the  tube 
and  the  vessel.  Still  Galen  appears  by  this  experiment  to  prove 
both  that  the  pulsativ’e  property  extends  from  the  heart  by  the 
walls  of  the  arteries,  and  that  the  arteries,  whilst  they  dilate,  are 
filled  by  that  pulsific  force,  because  they  expand  like  bellows, 
and  do  not  dilate  as  if  they  are  filled  like  skins,  But  the  con- 
trary is  obvious  in  arteriotomy  and  in  wounds;  for  the  blood 
spurting  from  the  arteries  escapes  with  force,  now  farther,  now 
not  so  far,  alternately,  or  in  jets;  and  the  jet  always  takes  place 
with  the  diastole  of  the  artery,  never  with  the  systole.  By  which 
it  clearly  appears  that  the  artery  is  dilated  with  the  impulse  of 
the  blood ; for  of  itself  it  would  not  throw  the  blood  to  such  a 
distance  and  whilst  it  was  dilating;  it  ought  rather  to  draw  air 
into  its  cavity  through  the  wound,  were  those  things  true  that 
are  commonly  stated  concerning  the  uses  of  the  arteries.  Do 
not  let  the  thickness  of  the  arterial  tunics  impose  upon  us,  and 
lead  us  to  conclude  that  the  pulsative  property  proceeds  along 
them  from  the  heart.  For  in  several  animals  the  arteries  do  not 
apparently  differ  from  the  veins ; and  in  extreme  parts  of  the 
body  where  the  arteries  are  minutely  subdivided,  as  in  the  brain, 
the  hand,  etc.,  no  one  could  distinguish  the  arteries  from  the 
veins  by  the  dissimilar  characters  of  their  coats:  the  tunics  of 
both  are  identical.  And  then,  in  the  aneurism  proceeding  from 
a wounded  or  eroded  artery,  the  pulsation  is  precisely  the  same  as 
in  the  other  arteries,  and  yet  it  has  no  proper  arterial  covering. 
To  this  the  learned  Riolanus  testifies  along  with  me,  in  his 
Seventh  Book. 

Nor  let  any  one  imagine  that  the  uses  of  the  pulse  and  the 
respiration  are  the  same,  because,  under  the  influences  of  the 
same  causes,  such  as  running,  anger,  the  warm  bath,  or  any 


INTRODUCTION 


73 


other  heating  thing,  as  Galen  says,  they  become  more  frequent 
and  forcible  together.  For  not  only  is  experience  in  opposition 
to  this  idea,  though  Galen  endeavours  to  explain  it  away,  when 
we  see  that  with  excessive  repletion  the  pulse  beats  more  forcibly, 
whilst  the  respiration  is  diminished  in  amount;  but  in  young 
persons  the  pulse  is  quick,  whilst  respiration  is  slow.  So  it  is 
also  in  alarm,  and  amidst  care,  and  under  anxiety  of  mind ; some- 
times, too,  in  fevers,  the  pulse  is  rapid,  but  the  respiration  is 
slower  than  usual. 

These  and  other  objections  of  the  same  kind  may  be  urged 
against  the  opinions  mentioned.  Nor  are  the  views  that  are 
entertained  of  the  offices  and  pulse  of  the  heart,  perhaps,  less 
bound  up  with  great  and  most  inextricable  difficulties.  The 
heart,  it  is  vulgarly  said,  is  the  fountain  and  workshop  of  the 
vital  spirits,  the  centre  from  which  life  is  dispensed  to  the  several 
parts  of  the  body.  Yet  it  is  denied  that  the  right  ventricle  makes 
spirits,  which  is  rather  held  to  supply  nourishment  to  the  lungs. 
For  these  reasons  it  is  maintained  that  fishes  are  without  any 
right  ventricle  (and  indeed  every  animal  wants  a right  ventricle 
■which  is  unfurnished  with  lungs),  and  that  the  right  ventricle 
is  present  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  lungs. 

1.  Why,  I ask,  when  we  see  that  the  structure  of  both  Ventricles 
is  almost  identical,  there  being  the  same  apparatus  of  fibres,  and 
braces,  and  valves,  and  vessels,  and  auricles,  and  both  in  the 
same  way  in  our  dissections  are  found  to  be  filled  up  with  blood 
similarly  black  in  colour,  and  coagulated — why,  I say,  should 
their  uses  be  imagined  to  be  different,  when  the  action,  motion, 
and  pulse  of  both  are  the  same?  If  the  three  tricuspid  valves 
placed  at  the  entrance  into  the  right  ventricle  prove  obstacles 
to  the  reflux  of  the  blood  into  the  vena  cava,  and  if  the  three 
semilunar  valves  which  are  situated  at  the  commencement  of  the 
pulmonary  artery  be  there,  that  they  may  prevent  the  return  of 
the  blood  into  the  ventricle ; why,  when  we  find  similar  structures 
in  connexion  with  the  left  ventricle,  should  we  deny  that  they  are 
there  for  the  same  end,  of  preventing  here  the  egress,  there  the 
regurgitation,  of  the  blood? 

2.  And,  when  we  have  these  structures,  in  points  of  size, 
form,  and  situation,  almost  in  every  respect  the  same  in  the 
left  as  in  the  right  ventricle,  why  should  it  be  said  that  things  are 
arranged  in  the  former  for  the  egress  and  regress  of  spirits, 


74 


INTRODUCTION 


and  in  the  latter  or  right  ventricle,  for  the  blood?  The  same 
arrangement  cannot  be  held  fitted  to  favour  or  impede  the  motion 
of  the  blood  and  of  spirits  indifferently. 

3.  And  when  we  observe  that  the  passages  and  vessels  are 
severally  in  relation  to  one  another  in  point  of  size,  viz.,  the 
pulmonary  artery  to  the  pulmonary  veins ; why  should  the  one 
be  destined  to  a private  purpose,  that  of  furnishing  the  lungs, 
the  other  to  a public  function? 

4.  And  as  Realdus  Columbus  says,  is  it  probable  that  such 
a quantity  of  blood  should  be  required  for  the  nutrition  of 
the  lungs;  the  vessel  that  leads  to  them,  the  vena  arteriosa  or 
pulmonary  artery  being  of  greater  capacity  than  both  the  iliac 
veins  ? 

5.  And  I ask,  as  the  lungs  are  so  close  at  hand,  and  in  con- 
tinual motion,  and  the  vessel  that  supplies  them  is  of  such  dimen- 
sions, what  is  the  use  or  meaning  of  this  pulse  of  the  right 
ventricle?  and  why  was  nature  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
adding  another  ventricle  for  the  sole  purpose  of  nourishing  the 
lungs? 

When  it  is  said  that  the  left  ventricle  draws  materials  for 
the  formation  of  spirits,  air  and  blood,  from  the  lungs  and  right 
sinuses  of  the  heart,  and  in  like  manner  sends  spirituous  blood 
into  the  aorta,  drawing  fuliginous  vapours  from  there,  and 
sending  them  by  the  pulmonary  vein  into  the  lungs,  whence 
spirits  are  at  the  same  time  obtained  for  transmission  into  the 
aorta,  I ask  how,  and  by  what  means  is  the  separation  effected? 
And  how  comes  it  that  spirits  and  fuliginous  vapours  can  pass 
hither  and  thither  without  admixture  or  confusion?  If  the 
mitral  cuspidate  valves  do  not  prevent  the  egress  of  fuliginous 
vapours  to  the  lungs,  how  should  they  oppose  the  escape  of  air? 
And  how  should  the  semilunars  hinder  the  regress  of  spirits  from 
the  aorta  upon  each  supervening  diastole  of  the  heart?  Above 
all,  how  can  they  say  that  the  spirituous  blood  is  sent  from  the 
pulmonary  veins  by  the  left  ventricle  into  the  lungs  without  any 
obstacle  to  its  passage  from  the  mitral  valves,  when  they  have 
previously  asserted  that  the  air  entered  by  the  same  vessel  from 
the  lungs  into  the  left  ventricle,  and  have  brought  forward  these 
same  mitral  valves  as  obstacles  to  its  retrogression?  Good 
God ! how  should  the  mitral  valves  prevent  the  regurgitation  of 
air  and  not  of  blood? 


INTRODUCTION 


75 


Moreover,  when  they  appoint  the  pulmonary  artery,  a vessel 
of  great  size,  with  the  coverings  of  an  artery,  to  none  but  a 
kind  of  private  and  single  purpose,  that,  namely,  of  nourishing 
the  lungs,  why  should  the  pulmonary  vein,  which  is  scarcely 
so  large,  which  has  the  coats  of  a vein,  and  is  soft  and  lax,  be 
presumed  to  be  made  for  many — three  or  four  different — uses? 
For  they  will  have  it  that  air  passes  through  this  vessel  from 
the  lungs  into  the  left  ventricle;  that  fuliginous  vapours  escape 
by  it  from  the  heart  into  the  lungs;  and  that  a portion  of  the 
spirituous  blood  is  distributed  to  the  lungs  for  their  refreshment. 

If  they  will  have  it  that  fumes  and  air — fumes  flowing  from, 
air  proceeding  towards  the  heart — are  transmitted  by  the  same 
conduit,  I reply,  that  nature  is  not  wont  to  construct  but  one 
vessel,  to  contrive  but  one  way  for  such  contrary  motions  and 
purposes,  nor  is  anything  of  the  kind  seen  elsewhere. 

If  fumes  or  fuliginous  vapours  and  air  permeate  this  vessel, 
as  they  do  the  pulmonary  bronchia,  wherefore  do  we  find  neither 
air  nor  fuliginous  vapours  when  we  divide  the  pulmonary  vein? 
Why  do  we  always  find  this  vessel  full  of  sluggish  blood,  never 
of  air,  whilst  in  the  lungs  we  find  abundance  of  air  remaining? 

If  any  one  will  perform  Galen’s  experiment  of  dividing  the 
trachea  of  a living  dog,  forcibly  distending  the  lungs  with  a pair 
of  bellows,  and  then  tying  the  trachea  securely,  he  will  find, 
when  he  has  laid  open  the  thorax,  abundance  of  air  in  the  lungs, 
even  to  their  extreme  investing  tunic,  but  none  in  either  the 
pulmonary  veins  or  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart.  But  did 
the  heart  either  attract  air  from  the  lungs,  or  did  the  lungs 
transmit  any  air  to  the  heart,  in  the  living  dog,  much  more 
ought  this  to  be  the  case  in  the  experiment  just  referred  to. 
Who,  indeed,  doubts  that,  did  he  inflate  the  lungs  of  a subject 
in  the  dissecting-room,  he  would  instantly  see  the  air  making 
its  way  by  this  route,  were  there  actually  any  such  passage  for 
it?  But  this  office  of  the  pulmonary  veins,  namely,  the  trans- 
ference of  air  from  the  lungs  of  the  heart,  is  held  of  such  im- 
portance, that  Hieronymus  Fabricius  of  Aquapendente,  con- 
tends that  the  lungs  were  made  for  the  sake  of  this  vessel,  and 
that  it  constitutes  the  principal  element  in  their  structure. 

But  I should  like  to  be  informed  why,  if  the  pulmonary  vein 
were  destined  for  the  conveyance  of  air,  it  has  the  structure 
of  a blood-vessel  here.  Nature  had  rather  need  of  annular 


76 


INTRODUCTION 


tubes,  such  as  those  of  the  bronchi,  in  order  that  they  might 
always  remain  open,  and  not  be  liable  to  collapse;  and  that 
they  might  continue  entirely  free  from  blood,  lest  the  liquid 
should  interfere  with  the  passage  of  the  air,  as  it  so  obviously 
does  when  the  lungs  labour  from  being  either  greatly  oppressed 
or  loaded  in  a less  degree  with  phlegm,  as  they  are  when  the 
breathing  is  performed  with  a sibilous  or  rattling  noise. 

Still  less  is  that  opinion  to  be  tolerated  which,  as  a two-fold 
material,  one  aerial,  one  sanguineous,  is  required  for  the  com- 
position of  vital  spirits,  supposes  the  blood  to  ooze  through  the 
septum  of  the  heart  from  the  right  to  the  left  ventricle  by  certain 
hidden  porosities,  and  the  air  to  be  attracted  from  the  lungs 
through  the  great  vessel,  the  pulmonary  vein;  and  which,  con- 
sequently, will  have  it,  that  there  are  numerous  porosities  in 
the  septum  of  the  heart  adapted  for  the  transmission  of  the 
blood.  But  by  Hercules ! no  such  pores  can  be  demonstrated,  nor 
in  fact  do  any  such  exist.  For  the  septum  of  the  heart  is  of  a 
denser  and  more  compact  structure  than  any  portion  of  the 
body,  except  the  bones  and  sinews.  But  even  supposing  that 
there  were  foramina  or  pores  in  this  situation,  how  could  one 
of  the  ventricles  extract  anything  from  the  other — the  left, 
e.g.,  obtain  blood  from  the  right,  when  we  see  that  both  ven- 
tricles contract  and  dilate  simultaneously?  Why  should  we  not 
rather  believe  that  the  right  took  spirits  from  the  left,  than  that 
the  left  obtained  blood  from  the  right  ventricle  through  these 
foramina?  But  it  is  certainly  mysterious  and  incongruous  that 
blood  should  be  supposed  to  be  most  commodiously  drawn 
through  a set  of  obscure  or  invisible  ducts,  and  air  through  per- 
fectly open  passages,  at  one  and  the  same  moment.  And  why, 
I ask,  is  recourse  had  to  secret  and  invisible  porosities,  to 
uncertain  and  obscure  channels,  to  explain  the  passage  of  the 
blood  into  the  left  ventricle,  when  there  is  so  open  a way  through 
the  pulmonary  veins?  I own  it  has  always  appeared  extraordi- 
nary to  me  that  they  should  have  chosen  to  make,  or  rather 
to  imagine,  a way  through  the  thick,  hard,  dense,  and  most  com- 
pact septum  of  the  heart,  rather  than  take  that  by  the  open 
pulmonary  vein,  or  even  through  the  lax,  soft  and  spongy  sub- 
stance of  the  lungs  at  large.  Besides,  if  the  blood  could  per- 
meate the  substance  of  the  septum,  or  could  be  imbibed  from  the 
ventricles,  what  use  were  there  for  the  coronary  artery  and  vein, 


INTRODUCTION 


77 


branches  of  which  proceed  to  the  septum  itself,  to  supply  it 
with  nourishment?  And  what  is  especially  worthy  of  notice 
is  this : if  in  the  foetus,  where  everything  is  more  lax  and  soft, 
nature  saw  herself  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  bringing  the 
blood  from  the  right  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart  by  the  foramen 
ovale,  from  the  vena  cava  through  the  pulmonary  vein,  how 
should  it  be  likely  that  in  the  adult  she  should  pass  it  so  com- 
modiously,  and  without  an  effort  through  the  septum  of  the 
ventricles  which  has  now  become  denser  by  age? 

Andreas  Laurentius,1  resting  on  the  authority  of  Galen2  and 
the  experience  of  Hollerius,  asserts  and  proves  that  the  serum 
and  pus  in  empyema,  absorbed  from  the  cavities  of  the  chest 
into  the  pulmonary  vein  may  be  ejcpelled  and  got  rid  of  with 
the  urine  and  faeces  through  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart  and 
arteries.  He  quotes  the  case  of  a certain  person  affected  with 
melancholia,  and  who  suffered  from  repeated  fainting  fits,  who 
was  relieved  from  the  paroxysms  on  passing  a quantity  of 
turbid,  fetid  and  acrid  urine.  But  he  died  at  last,  worn  out  by 
disease;  and  when  the  body  came  to  be  opened  after  death,  no 
fluid  like  that  he  had  micturated  was  discovered  either  in  the 
bladder  or  the  kidneys;  but  in  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart  and 
cavity  of  the  thorax  plenty  of  it  was  met  with.  And  then 
Laurentius  boasts  that  he  had  predicted  the  cause  of  the  symp- 
toms. For  my  own  part,  however,  I cannot  but  wonder,  since 
he  had  divined  and  predicted  that  heterogeneous  matter  could 
be  discharged  by  the  course  he  indicates,  why  he  could  not  or 
would  not  perceive,  and  inform  us  that,  in  the  natural  state  of 
things,  the  blood  might  be  commodiously  transferred  from  the 
lungs  to  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart  by  the  very  same  route. 

Since,  therefore,  from  the  foregoing  considerations  and  many 
others  to  the  same  effect,  it  is  plain  that  what  has  heretofore 
been  said  concerning  the  motion  and  function  of  the  heart  and 
arteries  must  appear  obscure,  inconsistent,  or  even  impossible 
to  him  who  carefully  considers  the  entire  subject,  it  would  be 
proper  to  look  more  narrowly  into  the  matter  to  contemplate 
the  motion  of  the  heart  and  arteries,  not  only  in  man,  but  in 
all  animals  that  have  hearts;  and  also,  by  frequent  appeals  to 
vivisection,  and  much  ocular  inspection,  to  investigate  and  dis- 
cern the  truth. 

1 Lib.  ix,  cap.  xi,  quest.  12.  ! De  Locis  Affectis.  lib.  vi,  cap.  7. 


ON  THE  MOTION 
OF  THE  HEART  AND  BLOOD 
IN  ANIMALS 


CHAPTER  I 

The  Author’s  Motives  for  Writing 

WHEN  I first  gave  my  mind  to  vivisections,  as  a 
means  of  discovering  the  motions  and  uses  of  the 
heart,  and  sought  to  discover  these  from  actual 
inspection,  and  not  from  the  writings  of  others,  I found 
the  task  so  truly  arduous,  so  full  of  difficulties,  that  I was 
almost  tempted  to  think,  with  Fracastorius,  that  the  motion 
of  the  heart  was  only  to  be  comprehended  by  God.  For  I 
could  neither  rightly  perceive  at  first  when  the  systole  and 
when  the  diastole  took  place,  nor  when  and  where  dilatation 
and  contraction  occurred,  by  reason  of  the  rapidity  of  the 
motion,  which  in  many  animals  is  accomplished  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye,  coming  and  going  like  a flash  of  lightning;  so 
that  the  systole  presented  itself  to  me  now  from  this  point, 
now  from  that ; the  diastole  the  same ; and  then  everything 
was  reversed,  the  motions  occurring,  as  it  seemed,  variously 
and  confusedly  together.  My  mind  was  therefore  greatly 
unsettled  nor  did  I know  what  I should  myself  conclude,  nor 
what  believe  from  others.  I was  not  surprised  that  Andreas 
Laurentius  should  have  written  that  the  motion  of  the  heart 
was  as  perplexing  as  the  flux  and  reflux  of  Euripus  had 
appeared  to  Aristotle. 

At  length,  by  using  greater  and  daily  diligence  and  investi- 
gation, making  frequent  inspection  of  many  and  various 
animals,  and  collating  numerous  observations,  I thought  that 
I had  attained  to  the  truth,  that  I should  extricate  myself 

79 


80 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


and  escape  from  this  labyrinth,  and  that  I had  discovered 
what  I so  much  desired,  both  the  motion  and  the  use  of  the 
heart  and  arteries.  From  that  time  I have  not  hesitated  to 
expose  my  views  upon  these  subjects,  not  only  in  private 
to  my  friends,  but  also  in  public,  in  my  anatomical  lectures, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Academy  of  old. 

These  views  as  usual,  pleased  some  more,  others  less ; 
some  chid  and  calumniated  me,  and  laid  it  to  me  as  a crime 
that  I had  dared  to  depart  from  the  precepts  and  opinions 
of  all  anatomists ; others  desired  further  explanations  of  the 
novelties,  which  they  said  were  both  worthy  of  considera- 
tion, and  might  perchance  be  found  of  signal  use.  At  length, 
yielding  to  the  requests  of  my  friends,  that  all  might  be 
made  participators  in  my  labors,  and  partly  moved  by  the 
envy  of  others,  who,  receiving  my  views  with  uncandid 
minds  and  understanding  them  indifferently,  have  essayed  to 
traduce  me  publicly,  I have  moved  to  commit  these  things 
to  the  press,  in  order  that  all  may  be  enabled  to  form  an 
opinion  both  of  me  and  my  labours.  This  step  I take  all  the 
more  willingly,  seeing  that  Hieronymus  Fabricius  of  Aqua- 
pendente,  although  he  has  accurately  and  learnedly  delineated 
almost  every  one  of  the  several  parts  of  animals  in  a special 
work,  has  left  the  heart  alone  untouched.  Finally,  if  any 
use  or  benefit  to  this  department  of  the  republic  of  letters 
should  accrue  from  my  labours,  it  will,  perhaps,  be  allowed 
that  I have  not  lived  idly,  and  as  the  old  man  in  the  comedy 
says: 

For  never  yet  hath  any  one  attained 
To  such  perfection,  but  that  time,  and  place, 

And  use,  have  brought  addition  to  his  knowledge ; 

Or  made  correction,  or  admonished  him, 

That  he  was  ignorant  of  much  which  he 
Had  thought  he  knew  ; or  led  him  to  reject 
What  he  had  once  esteemed  of  highest  price. 

So  will  it,  perchance,  be  found  with  reference  to  the  heart 
at  this  time ; or  others,  at  least,  starting  hence,  with  the  way 
pointed  out  to  them,  advancing  under  the  guidance  of  a 
happier  genius,  may  make  occasion  to  proceed  more  for- 
tunately, and  to  inquire  more  accurately. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


81 


CHAPTER  II 

On  the  Motions  of  the  Heart  as  Seen  in  the  Dissection 
of  Living  Animals 

In  the  first  place,  then,  when  the  chest  of  a living  animal 
is  laid  open  and  the  capsule  that  immediately  surrounds  the 
heart  is  slit  up  or  removed,  the  organ  is  seen  now  to  move, 
now  to  be  at  rest;  there  is  a time  when  it  moves,  and  a 
time  when  it  is  motionless. 

These  things  are  more  obvious  in  the  colder  animals,  such 
as  toads,  frogs,  serpents,  small  fishes,  crabs,  shrimps,  snails, 
and  shell-fish.  They  also  become  more  distinct  in  warm- 
blooded animals,  such  as  the  dog  and  hog,  if  they  be  atten- 
tively noted  when  the  heart  begins  to  flag,  to  move  more 
slowly,  and,  as  it  were,  to  die:  the  movements  then  become 
slower  and  rarer,  the  pauses  longer,  by  which  it  is  made 
much  more  easy  to  perceive  and  unravel  what  the  motions 
really  are,  and  how  they  are  performed.  In  the  pause,  as 
in  death,  the  heart  is  soft,  flaccid,  exhausted,  lying,  as  it 
were,  at  rest. 

In  the  motion,  and  interval  in  which  this  is  accomplished, 
three  principal  circumstances  are  to  be  noted: 

1.  That  the  heart  is  erected,  and  rises  upwards  to  a point, 
so  that  at  this  time  it  strikes  against  the  breast  and  the 
pulse  is  felt  externally. 

2.  That  it  is  everywhere  contracted,  but  more  especially 
towards  the  sides  so  that  it  looks  narrower,  relatively  longer, 
more  drawn  together.  The  heart  of  an  eel  taken  out  of  the 
body  of  the  animal  and  placed  upon  the  table  or  the  hand, 
shows  these  particulars ; but  the  same  things  are  manifest  in 
the  hearts  of  all  small  fishes  and  of  those  colder  animals 
where  the  organ  is  more  conical  or  elongated. 

3.  The  heart  being  grasped  in  the  hand,  is  felt  to  become 
harder  during  its  action.  Now  this  hardness  proceeds  from 
tension,  precisely  as  when  the  forearm  is  grasped,  its  ten- 
dons are  perceived  to  become  tense  and  resilient  when  the 
fingers  are  moved. 

4.  It  may  further  be  observed  in  fishes,  and  the  colder 
blooded  animals,  such  as  frogs,  serpents,  etc.,  that  the  heart, 


82 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


when  it  moves,  becomes  of  a paler  color,  when  quiescent  of 
a deeper  blood-red  color. 

From  these  particulars  it  appears  evident  to  me  that  the 
motion  of  the  heart  consists  in  a certain  universal  tension — • 
both  contraction  in  the  line  of  its  fibres,  and  constriction  in 
every  sense.  It  becomes  erect,  hard,  and  of  diminished  size 
during  its  action ; the  motion  is  plainly  of  the  same  nature 
as  that  of  the  muscles  when  they  contract  in  the  line  of  their 
sinews  and  fibres;  for  the  muscles,  when  in  action,  acquire 
vigor  and  tenseness,  and  from  soft  become  hard,  prominent, 
and  thickened:  and  in  the  same  manner  the  heart. 

We  are  therefore  authorized  to  conclude  that  the  heart, 
at  the  moment  of  its  action,  is  at  once  constricted  on  all 
sides,  rendered  thicker  in  its  parietes  and  smaller  in  its 
ventricles,  and  so  made  apt  to  project  or  expel  its  charge 
of  blood.  This,  indeed,  is  made  sufficiently  manifest  by  the 
preceding  fourth  observation  in  which  we  have  seen  that 
the  heart,  by  squeezing  out  the  blood  that  it  contains, 
becomes  paler,  and  then  when  it  sinks  into  repose  and  the 
ventricle  is  filled  anew  with  blood,  that  the  deeper  crimson 
colour  returns.  But  no  one  need  remain  in  doubt  of  the 
fact,  for  if  the  ventricle  be  pierced  the  blood  will  be  seen 
to  be  forcibly  projected  outwards  upon  each  motion  or  pul- 
sation when  the  heart  is  tense. 

These  things,  therefore,  happen  together  or  at  the  same 
instant : the  tension  of  the  heart,  the  pulse  of  its  apex,  which 
is  felt  externally  by  its  striking  against  the  chest,  the  thick- 
ening of  its  parietes,  and  the  forcible  expulsion  of  the  blood 
it  contains  by  the  constriction  of  its  ventricles. 

Hence  the  very  opposite  of  the  opinions  commonly  received 
appears  to  be  true ; inasmuch  as  it  is  generally  believed 
that  when  the  heart  strikes  the  breast  and  the  pulse  is  felt 
without,  the  heart  is  dilated  in  its  ventricles  and  is  filled 
with  blood ; but  the  contrary  of  this  is  the  fact,  and  the 
heart,  when  it  contracts  (and  the  impulse  of  the  apex  is 
conveyed  through  the  chest  wall),  is  emptied.  Whence  the 
motion  which  is  generally  regarded  as  the  diastole  of  the 
heart,  is  in  truth  its  systole.  And  in  like  manner  the  intrin- 
sic motion  of  the  heart  is  not  the  diastole  but  the  systole ; 
neither  is  it  in  the  diastole  that  the  heart  grows  firm  and 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


83 


tense,  but  in  the  systole,  for  then  only,  when  tense,  is  it 
moved  and  made  vigorous. 

Neither  is  it  by  any  means  to  be  allowed  that  the  heart 
only  moves  in  the  lines  of  its  straight  fibres,  although  the 
great  Vesalius  giving  this  notion  countenance,  quotes  a 
bundle  of  osiers  bound  in  a pyramidal  heap  in  illustration ; 
meaning,  that  as  the  apex  is  approached  to  the  base,  so  are 
the  sides  made  to  bulge  out  in  the  fashion  of  arches,  the 
cavities  to  dilate,  the  ventricles  to  acquire  the  form  of  a 
cupping-glass  and  so  to  suck  in  the  blood.  But  the  true  effect 
of  every  one  of  its  fibres  is  to  constringe  the  heart  at  the 
same  time  they  render  it  tense ; and  this  rather  with  the 
effect  of  thickening  and  amplifying  the  walls  and  substance 
of  the  organ  than  enlarging  its  ventricles.  And,  again,  as 
the  fibres  run  from  the  apex  to  the  base,  and  draw  the 
apex  towards  the  base,  they  do  not  tend  to  make  the  walls 
of  the  heart  bulge  out  in  circles,  but  rather  the  contrary ; 
inasmuch  as  every  fibre  that  is  circularly  disposed,  tends  to 
become  straight  when  it  contracts ; and  is  distended  laterally 
and  thickened,  as  in  the  case  of  muscular  fibres  in  general, 
when  they  contract,  that  is,  when  they  are  shortened  longi- 
tudinally, as  we  see  them  in  the  bellies  of  the  muscles  of 
the  body  at  large.  To  all  this  let  it  be  added,  that  not  only 
are  the  ventricles  contracted  in  virtue  of  the  direction  and 
condensation  of  their  walls,  but  farther,  that  those  fibres, 
or  bands,  styled  nerves  by  Aristotle,  which  are  so  conspicu- 
ous in  the  ventricles  of  the  larger  animals,  and  contain  all 
the  straight  fibres  (the  parietes  of  the  heart  containing  only 
circular  ones),  when  they  contract  simultaneously  by  an 
admirable  adjustment  all  the  internal  surfaces  are  drawn 
together  as  if  with  cords,  and  so  is  the  charge  of  blood 
expelled  with  force. 

Neither  is  it  true,  as  vulgarly  believed,  that  the  heart  by 
any  dilatation  or  motion  of  its  own,  has  the  power  of  draw- 
ing the  blood  into  the  ventricles ; for  when  it  acts  and  be- 
comes tense,  the  blood  is  expelled ; when  it  relaxes  and  sinks 
together  it  receives  the  blood  in  the  manner  and  wise  which 
will  by-and-by  be  explained. 


84 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


CHAPTER  III 

Of  the  Motions  of  the  Arteries,  as  Seen  in  the 
Dissection  of  Living  Animals 

In  connexion  with  the  motions  of  the  heart  these  things 
are  further  to  be  observed  having  reference  to  the  motions 
and  pulses  of  the  arteries. 

1.  At  the  moment  the  heart  contracts,  and  when  the  breast 
is  struck,  when  in  short  the  organ  is  in  its  state  of  systole, 
the  arteries  are  dilated,  yield  a pulse,  and  are  in  the  state 
of  diastole.  In  like  manner,  when  the  right  ventricle  con- 
tracts and  propels  its  charge  of  blood,  the  pulmonary  artery 
is  distended  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  arteries  of  the 
body. 

2.  When  the  left  ventricle  ceases  to  act,  to  contract,  to 
pulsate,  the  pulse  in  the  arteries  also  ceases;  further,  when 
this  ventricle  contracts  languidly,  the  pulse  in  the  arteries 
is  scarcely  perceptible.  In  like  manner,  the  pulse  in  the 
right  ventricle  failing,  the  pulse  in  the  pulmonary  artery 
ceases  also. 

3.  Further,  when  an  artery  is  divided  or  punctured,  the 
blood  is  seen  to  be  forcibly  propelled  from  the  wound  the 
moment  the  left  ventricle  contracts ; and,  again,  when  the 
pulmonary  artery  is  wounded,  the  blood  will  be  seen  spout- 
ing forth  with  violence  at  the  instant  when  the  right  ventri- 
cle contracts. 

So  also  in  fishes,  if  the  vessel  which  leads  from  the  heart 
to  the  gills  be  divided,  at  the  moment  when  the  heart  be- 
comes tense  and  contracted,  at  the  same  moment  does  the 
blood  flow  with  force  from  the  divided  vessel. 

In  the  same  way,  when  we  see  the  blood  in  arteriotomy 
projected  now  to  a greater,  now  to  a less  distance,  and  that 
the  greater  jet  corresponds  to  the  diastole  of  the  artery  and 
to  the  time  when  the  heart  contracts  and  strikes  the  ribs, 
and  is  in  its  state  of  systole,  we  understand  that  the  blood  is 
expelled  by  the  same  movement. 

From  these  facts  it  is  manifest,  in  opposition  to  commonly 
received  opinions,  that  the  diastole  of  the  arteries  corre- 
sponds with  the  time  of  the  heart’s  systole ; and  that  the 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


85 


arteries  are  filled  and  distended  by  the  blood  forced  into 
them  by  the  contraction  of  the  ventricles;  the  arteries,  there- 
fore, are  distended,  because  they  are  filled  like  sacs  or  blad- 
ders, and  are  not  filled  because  they  expand  like  bellows.  It 
is  in  virtue  of  one  and  the  same  cause,  therefore,  that  all 
the  arteries  of  the  body  pulsate,  viz.,  the  contraction  of  the 
left  ventricle;  in  the  same  way  as  the  pulmonary  artery 
pulsates  by  the  contraction  of  the  right  ventricle. 

Finally,  that  the  pulses  of  the  arteries  are  due  to  the 
impulses  of  the  blood  from  the  left  ventricle,  may  be  illus- 
trated by  blowing  into  a glove,  when  the  whole  of  the 
fingers  will  be  found  to  become  distended  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  and  in  their  tension  to  bear  some  resemblance 
to  the  pulse.  For  in  the  ratio  of  the  tension  is  the  pulse  of 
the  heart,  fuller,  stronger,  and  more  frequent  as  that  acts 
more  vigorously,  still  preserving  the  rhythm  and  volume, 
and  order  of  the  heart’s  contractions.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
expected  that  because  of  the  motion  of  the  blood,  the  time 
at  which  the  contraction  of  the  heart  takes  place,  and  that 
at  which  the  pulse  in  an  artery  (especially  a distant  one)  is 
felt,  shall  be  otherwise  than  simultaneous:  it  is  here  the 
same  as  in  blowing  up  a glove  or  bladder;  for  in  a plenum  (as 
in  a drum,  a long  piece  of  timber,  etc.)  the  stroke  and  the 
motion  occur  at  both  extremities  at  the  same  time. 
Aristotle,1  too,  has  said,  “the  blood  of  all  animals  palpitates 
within  their  veins  (meaning  the  arteries),  and  by  the  pulse 
is  sent  everywhere  simultaneously.”  And  further,2  “thus 
do  all  the  veins  pulsate  together  and  by  successive  strokes, 
because  they  all  depend  upon  the  heart;  and,  as  it  is  always 
in  motion,  so  are  they  likewise  always  moving  together,  but 
by  successive  movements.”  It  is  well  to  observe  with 
Galen,  in  this  place,  that  the  old  philosophers  called  the 
arteries  veins. 

I happened  upon  one  occasion  to  have  a particular  case 
under  my  care,  which  plainly  satisfied  me  of  the  truth:  A 

certain  person  was  affected  with  a large  pulsating  tumour  on 
the  right  side  of  the  neck,  called  an  aneurism,  just  at  that 
part  where  the  artery  descends  into  the  axilla,  produced  by 
an  erosion  of  the  artery  itself,  and  daily  increasing  in  size; 

1 De  Anim.,  iii,  cap.  g.  2 De  Respir.,  cap.  20. 


86 


WUXI  AM  HARVEY 


this  tumour  was  visibly  distended  as  it  received  the  charge 
of  blood  brought  to  it  by  the  artery,  with  each  stroke  of  the 
heart;  the  connexion  of  parts  was  obvious  when  the  body  of 
the  patient  came  to  be  opened  after  his  death.  The  pulse  in 
the  corresponding  arm  was  small,  in  consequence  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  blood  being  diverted  into  the  tumour 
and  so  intercepted. 

Whence  it  appears  that  whenever  the  motion  of  the  blood 
through  the  arteries  is  impeded,  whether  it  be  by  compres- 
sion or  infarction,  or  interception,  there  do  the  remote 
divisions  of  the  arteries  beat  less  forcibly,  seeing  that  the 
pulse  of  the  arteries  is  nothing  more  than  the  impulse  or 
shock  of  the  blood  in  these  vessels. 

CHAPTER  IV 

Of  the  Motion  of  the  Heart  and  Its  Auricles,  as  Seen 
in  the  Bodies  of  Living  Animals 

Besides  the  motions  already  spoken  of,  we  have  still  to 
consider  those  that  appertain  to  the  auricles. 

Caspar  Bauhin  and  John  Riolan,1  most  learned  men  and 
skilful  anatomists,  inform  us  that  from  their  observations, 
that  if  we  carefully  watch  the  movements  of  the  heart  in 
the  vivisection  of  an  animal,  we  shall  perceive  four  motions 
distinct  in  time  and  in  place,  two  of  which  are  proper  to  the 
auricles,  two  to  the  ventricles.  With  all  deference  to  such 
authority  I say  that  there  are  four  motions  distinct  in  point 
of  place,  but  not  of  time ; for  the  two  auricles  move  together, 
and  so  also  do  the  two  ventricles,  in  such  wise  that  though 
the  places  be  four,  the  times  are  only  two.  And  this  occurs 
in  the  following  manner: 

There  are,  as  it  were,  two  motions  going  on  together : one 
of  the  auricles,  another  of  the  ventricles;  these  by  no  means 
taking  place  simultaneously,  but  the  motion  of  the  auricles 
preceding,  that  of  the  heart  following;  the  motion  appearing 
to  begin  from  the  auricles  and  to  extend  to  the  ventricles. 
When  all  things  are  becoming  languid,  and  the  heart  is 
dying,  as  also  in  fishes  and  the  colder  blooded  animals  there 

1 Bauhin,  lib.  ii,  cap.  21.  Riolan,  lib.  viii,  cap.  1. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


87 


is  a short  pause  between  these  two  motions,  so  that  the 
heart  aroused,  as  it  were,  appears  to  respond  to  the  motion, 
now  more  quickly,  now  more  tardily;  and  at  length,  when 
near  to  death,  it  ceases  to  respond  by  its  proper  motion,  but 
seems,  as  it  were,  to  nod  the  head,  and  is  so  slightly  moved 
that  it  appears  rather  to  give  signs  of  motion  to  the  pulsating 
auricles  than  actually  to  move.  The  heart,  therefore,  ceases 
to  pulsate  sooner  than  the  auricles,  so  that  the  auricles  have 
been  said  to  outlive  it,  the  left  ventricle  ceasing  to  pulsate 
first  of  all;  then  its  auricle,  next  the  right  ventricle;  and, 
finally,  all  the  other  parts  being  at  rest  and  dead,  as  Galen 
long  since  observed,  the  right  auricle  still  continues  to  beat ; 
life,  therefore,  appears  to  linger  longest  in  the  right  auricle. 
Whilst  the  heart  is  gradually  dying,  it  is  sometimes  seen  to 
reply,  after  two  or  three  contractions  of  the  auricles,  roused 
as  it  were  to  action,  and  making  a single  pulsation,  slowly, 
unwillingly,  and  with  an  effort. 

But  this  especially  is  to  be  noted,  that  after  the  heart  has 
ceased  to  beat,  the  auricles  however  still  contracting,  a finger 
placed  upon  the  ventricles  perceives  the  several  pulsations 
of  the  auricles,  precisely  in  the  same  way  and  for  the  same 
reason,  as  we  have  said,  that  the  pulses  of  the  ventricles  are 
felt  in  the  arteries,  to  wit,  the  distension  produced  by  the  jet 
of  blood.  And  if  at  this  time,  the  auricles  alone  pulsating, 
the  point  of  the  heart  be  cut  off  with  a pair  of  scissors,  you 
will  perceive  the  blood  flowing  out  upon  each  contraction  of 
the  auricles.  Whence  it  is  manifest  that  the  blood  enters  the 
ventricles,  not  by  any  attraction  or  dilatation  of  the  heart, 
but  by  being  thrown  into  them  by  the  pulses  of  the  auricles. 

And  here  I would  observe,  that  whenever  I speak  of 
pulsations  as  occurring  in  the  auricles  or  ventricles,  I mean 
contractions : first  the  auricles  contract,  and  then  and  sub- 
sequently the  heart  itself  contracts.  When  the  auricles  con- 
tract they  are  seen  to  become  whiter,  especially  where  they 
contain  but  little  blood;  but  they  are  filled  as  magazines  or 
reservoirs  of  the  blood,  which  is  tending  spontaneously  and, 
by  its  motion  in  the  veins,  under  pressure  towards  the 
centre ; the  whiteness  indicated  is  most  conspicuous  towards 
the  extremities  or  edges  of  the  auricles  at  the  time  of  their 
contractions. 


88 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


In  fishes  and  frogs,  and  other  animals  which  have  hearts 
with  but  a single  ventricle,  and  for  an  auricle  have  a kind 
of  bladder  much  distended  with  blood,  at  the  base  of  the 
organ,  you  may  very  plainly  perceive  this  bladder  contract- 
ing first,  and  the  contraction  of  the  heart  or  ventricle  fol- 
lowing afterwards. 

But  I think  it  right  to  describe  what  I have  observed  of 
an  opposite  character:  the  heart  of  an  eel,  of  several  fishes, 
and  even  of  some  (of  the  higher)  animals  taken  out  of  the 
body,  pulsates  without  auricles ; nay,  if  it  be  cut  in  pieces 
the  several  parts  may  still  be  seen  contracting  and  relaxing; 
so  that  in  these  creatures  the  body  of  the  heart  may  be 
seen  pulsating  and  palpitating,  after  the  cessation  of  all 
motion  in  the  auricle.  But  is  not  this  perchance  peculiar  to 
animals  more  tenacious  of  life,  whose  radical  moisture  is 
more  glutinous,  or  fat  and  sluggish,  and  less  readily  soluble? 
The  same  faculty  indeed  appears  in  the  flesh  of  eels,  which 
even  when  skinned  and  embowelled,  and  cut  into  pieces,  are 
still  seen  to  move. 

Experimenting  with  a pigeon  upon  one  occasion,  after  the 
heart  had  wholly  ceased  to  pulsate,  and  the  auricles  too  had 
become  motionless,  I kept  my  finger  wetted  with  saliva  and 
warm  for  a short  time  upon  the  heart,  and  observed  that 
under  the  influence  of  this  fomentation  it  recovered  new 
strength  and  life,  so  that  both  ventricles  and  auricles  pul- 
sated, contracting  and  relaxing  alternately,  recalled  as  it 
were  from  death  to  life. 

Besides  this,  however,  I have  occasionally  observed,  after 
the  heart  and  even  its  right  auricle  had  ceased  pulsating, — 
when  it  was  in  articulo  mortis  in  short,— that  an  obscure 
motion,  an  undulation  or  palpitation,  remained  in  the  blood 
itself,  which  was  contained  in  the  right  auricle,  this  being 
apparent  so  long  as  it  was  imbued  with  heat  and  spirit. 
And,  indeed,  a circumstance  of  the  same  kind  is  extremely 
manifest  in  the  course  of  the  generation  of  animals,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  course  of  the  first  seven  days  of  the  incubation 
of  the  chick:  A drop  of  blood  makes  its  appearance  which 
palpitates,  as  Aristotle  had  already  observed;  from  this, 
when  the  growth  is  further  advanced  and  the  chick  is  fash- 
ioned, the  auricles  of  the  heart  are  formed,  which  pulsating 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


89 


henceforth  give  constant  signs  of  life.  When  at  length,  and 
after  the  lapse  of  a few  days,  the  outline  of  the  body  begins 
to  be  distinguished,  then  is  the  ventricular  part  of  the  heart 
also  produced,  but  it  continues  for  a time  white  and  appar- 
ently bloodless,  like  the  rest  of  the  animal;  neither  does  it 
pulsate  or  give  signs  of  motion.  I have  seen  a similar  con- 
dition of  the  heart  in  the  human  foetus  about  the  beginning 
of  the  third  month,  the  heart  then  being  whitish  and  blood- 
less, although  its  auricles  contained  a considerable  quantity 
of  purple  blood.  In  the  same  way  in  the  egg,  when  the  chick 
was  formed  and  had  increased  in  size,  the  heart  too  in- 
creased and  acquired  ventricles,  which  then  began  to  receive 
and  to  transmit  blood. 

And  this  leads  me  to  remark  that  he  who  inquires  very 
particularly  into  this  matter  will  not  conclude  that  the 
heart,  as  a whole,  is  the  primum  vivens,  ultimum  moriens, — 
the  first  part  to  live,  the  last  to  die, — but  rather  its  auricles, 
or  the  part  which  corresponds  to  the  auricles  in  serpents, 
fishes,  etc.,  which  both  lives  before  the  heart  and  dies 
after  it. 

Nay,  has  not  the  blood  itself  or  spirit  an  obscure  palpita- 
tion inherent  in  it,  which  it  has  even  appeared  to  me  to 
retain  after  death?  and  it  seems  very  questionable  whether 
or  not  we  are  to  say  that  life  begins  with  the  palpitation  or 
beating  of  the  heart.  The  seminal  fluid  of  all  animals — the 
prolific  spirit,  as  Aristotle  observed,  leaves  their  body  with 
a bound  and  like  a living  thing;  and  nature  in  death,  as 
Aristotle2  further  remarks,  retracing  her  steps,  reverts  to 
where  she  had  set  out,  and  returns  at  the  end  of  her  course 
to  the  goal  whence  she  had  started.  As  animal  generation 
proceeds  from  that  which  is  not  animal,  entity  from  non- 
entity, so,  by  a retrograde  course,  entity,  by  corruption,  is 
resolved  into  nonentity,  whence  that  in  animals,  which  was 
last  created,  fails  first  and  that  which  was  first,  fails  last. 

I have  also  observed  that  almost  all  animals  have  truly  a 
heart,  not  the  larger  creatures  only,  and  those  that  have  red 
blood,  but  the  smaller,  and  pale-blooded  ones  also,  such  as 
slugs,  snails,  scallops,  shrimps,  crabs,  crayfish,  and  many 
others ; nay,  even  in  wasps,  hornets,  and  flies,  I have,  with 
s De  Motu  Animal.,  cap.  8. 


80 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


the  aid  of  a magnifying  glass,  and  at  the  upper  part  of  what 
is  called  the  tail,  both  seen  the  heart  pulsating  myself,  and 
shown  it  to  many  others. 

But  in  the  pale-blooded  tribes  the  heart  pulsates  sluggishly 
and  deliberately,  contracting  slowly  as  in  animals  that  are 
moribund,  a fact  that  may  readily  be  seen  in  the  snail,  whose 
heart  will  be  found  at  the  bottom  of  that  orifice  in  the  right 
side  of  the  body  which  is  seen  to  be  opened  and  shut  in  the 
course  of  respiration,  and  whence  saliva  is  discharged,  the 
incision  being  made  in  the  upper  aspect  of  the  body,  near 
the  part  which  corresponds  to  the  liver. 

This,  however,  is  to  be  observed : that  in  winter  and  the 
colder  season,  exsanguine  animals,  such  as  the  snail,  show 
no  pulsation ; they  seem  rather  to  live  after  the  manner  of 
vegetables,  or  of  those  other  productions  which  are  there- 
fore designated  plant-animals. 

It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  all  animals  which  have  a heart 
have  also  auricles,  or  something  analogous  to  auricles ; and, 
further,  that  whenever  the  heart  has  a double  ventricle, 
there  are  always  two  auricles  present,  but  not  otherwise. 
If  you  turn  to  the  production  of  the  chick  in  ovo,  however, 
you  will  find  at  first  no  more  a vesicle  or  auricle,  or  pulsat- 
ing drop  of  blood;  it  is  only  by  and  by,  when  the  development 
has  made  some  progress,  that  the  heart  is  fashioned ; even  so 
in  certain  animals  not  destined  to  attain  to  the  highest  per- 
fection in  their  organization,  such  as  bees,  wasps,  snails, 
shrimps,  crayfish,  etc.,  we  only  find  a certain  pulsating 
vesicle,  like  a sort  of  red  or  white  palpitating  point,  as  the 
beginning  or  principle  of  their  life. 

We  have  a small  shrimp  in  these  countries,  which  is  taken 
in  the  Thames  and  in  the  sea,  the  whole  of  whose  body  is 
transparent;  this  creature,  placed  in  a little  water,  has 
frequently  afforded  myself  and  particular  friends  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  the  motions  of  the  heart  with  the 
greatest  distinctness,  the  external  parts  of  the  body  present- 
ing no  obstacle  to  our  view,  but  the  heart  being  perceived 
as  though  it  had  been  seen  through  a window. 

I have  also  observed  the  first  rudiments  of  the  chick  in 
the  course  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  of  the  incubation,  in  the 
guise  of  a little  cloud,  the  shell  having  been  removed  and 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


91 


the  egg  immersed  in  clear  tepid  water.  In  the  midst  of  the 
cloudlet  in  question  there  was  a bloody  point  so  small  that 
it  disappeared  during  the  contraction  and  escaped  the  sight, 
but  in  the  relaxation  it  reappeared  again,  red  and  like  the 
point  of  a pin ; so  that  betwixt  the  visible  and  invisible, 
betwixt  being  and  not  being,  as  it  were,  it  gave  by  its  pulses 
a kind  of  representation  of  the  commencement  of  life. 

CHAPTER  V 

Of  the  Motion,  Action  and  Office  of  the  Heart 

From  these  and  other  observations  of  a similar  nature, 
I am  persuaded  it  will  be  found  that  the  motion  of  the  heart 
is  as  follows : 

First  of  all,  the  auricle  contracts,  and  in  the  course  of  its 
contraction  forces  the  blood  (which  it  contains  in  ample 
quantity  as  the  head  of  the  veins,  the  store-house  and  cistern 
of  the  blood)  into  the  ventricle,  which,  being  filled,  the  heart 
raises  itself  straightway,  makes  all  its  fibres  tense,  contracts 
the  ventricles,  and  performs  a beat,  by  which  beat  it  imme- 
diately sends  the  blood  supplied  to  it  by  the  auricle  into  the 
arteries.  The  right  ventricle  sends  its  charge  into  the  lungs 
by  the  vessel  which  is  called  vena  arteriosa,  but  which  in 
structure  and  function,  and  all  other  respects,  is  an  artery. 
The  left  ventricle  sends  its  charge  into  the  aorta,  and 
through  this  by  the  arteries  to  the  body  at  large. 

These  two  motions,  one  of  the  ventricles,  the  other  of  the 
auricles,  take  place  consecutively,  but  in  such  a manner  that 
there  is  a kind  of  harmony  or  rhythm  preserved  between 
them,  the  two  concurring  in  such  wise  that  but  one  motion 
is  apparent,  especially  in  the  warmer  blooded  animals,  in 
which  the  movements  in  question  are  rapid.  Nor  is  this  for 
any  other  reason  than  it  is  in  a piece  of  machinery,  in 
which,  though  one  wheel  gives  motion  to  another,  yet  all 
the  wheels  seem  to  move  simultaneously ; or  in  that  mechani- 
cal contrivance  which  is  adapted  to  firearms,  where,  the 
trigger  being  touched,  down  comes  the  flint,  strikes  against 
the  steel,  elicits  a spark,  which  falling  among  the  powder, 
ignites  it,  when  the  flame  extends,  enters  the  barrel,  causes 


92 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


the  explosion,  propels  the  ball,  and  the  mark  is  attained — all 
of  which  incidents,  by  reason  of  the  celerity  with  which  they 
happen,  seem  to  take  place  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  So 
also  in  deglutition : by  the  elevation  of  the  root  of  the 
tongue,  and  the  compression  of  the  mouth,  the  food  or  drink 
is  pushed  into  the  fauces,  when  the  larynx  is  closed  by  its 
muscles  and  by  the  epiglottis.  The  pharynx  is  then  raised 
and  opened  by  its  muscles  in  the  same  way  as  a sac  that 
is  to  be  filled  is  lifted  up  and  its  mouth  dilated.  Upon  the 
mouthful  being  received,  it  is  forced  downwards  by  the 
transverse  muscles,  and  then  carried  farther  by  the  longi- 
tudinal ones.  Yet  all  these  motions,  though  executed  by 
different  and  distinct  organs,  are  performed  harmoniously, 
and  in  such  order  that  they  seem  to  constitute  but  a single 
motion  and  act,  which  we  call  deglutition. 

Even  so  does  it  come  to  pass  with  the  motions  and  action 
of  the  heart,  which  constitute  a kind  of  deglutition,  a trans- 
fusion of  the  blood  from  the  veins  to  the  arteries.  And  if 
anyone,  bearing  these  things  in  mind,  will  carefully  watch 
the  motions  of  the  heart  in  the  body  of  a living  animal,  he 
will  perceive  not  only  all  the  particulars  I have  mentioned, 
viz.,  the  heart  becoming  erect,  and  making  one  continuous 
motion  with  its  auricles ; but  farther,  a certain  obscure  un- 
dulation and  lateral  inclination  in  the  direction  of  the  axis 
of  the  right  ventricle,  as  if  twisting  itself  slightly  in  per- 
forming its  work.  And  indeed  everyone  may  see,  when  a 
horse  drinks,  that  the  water  is  drawn  in  and  transmitted  to 
the  stomach  at  each  movement  of  the  throat,  which  move- 
ment produces  a sound  and  yields  a pulse  both  to  the  ear  and 
the  touch;  in  the  same  way  it  is  with  each  motion  of  the 
heart,  when  there  is  the  delivery  of  a quantity  of  blood 
from  the  veins  to  the  arteries  a pulse  takes  place,  and  can 
be  heard  within  the  chest. 

The  motion  of  the  heart,  then,  is  entirely  of  this  descrip- 
tion, and  the  one  action  of  the  heart  is  the  transmission  of 
the  blood  and  its  distribution,  by  means  of  the  arteries,  to 
the  very  extremities  of  the  body;  so  that  the  pulse  which 
we  feel  in  the  arteries  is  nothing  more  than  the  impulse  of 
the  blood  derived  from  the  heart. 

Whether  or  not  the  heart,  besides  propelling  the  blood, 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


93 


giving  it  motion  locally,  and  distributing  it  to  the  body,  adds 
anything  else  to  it — heat,  spirit,  perfection, — must  be  inquir- 
ed into  by-and-by,  and  decided  upon  other  grounds.  So 
much  may  suffice  at  this  time,  when  it  is  shown  that  by  the 
action  of  the  heart  the  blood  is  transfused  through  the  ven- 
tricles from  the  veins  to  the  arteries,  and  distributed  by 
them  to  all  parts  of  the  body. 

The  above,  indeed,  is  admitted  by  all,  both  from  the  struc- 
ture of  the  heart  and  the  arrangement  and  action  of  its 
valves.  But  still  they  are  like  persons  purblind  or  groping 
about  in  the  dark,  for  they  give  utterance  to  various,  con- 
tradictory, and  incoherent  sentiments,  delivering  many 
things  upon  conjecture,  as  we  have  already  shown. 

The  grand  cause  of  doubt  and  error  in  this  subject  appears 
to  me  to  have  been  the  intimate  connexion  between  the 
heart  and  the  lungs.  When  men  saw  both  the  pulmonary 
artery  and  the  pulmonary  veins  losing  themselves  in  the 
lungs,  of  course  it  became  a puzzle  to  them  to  know  how  or 
by  what  means  the  right  ventricle  should  distribute  the  blood 
to  the  body,  or  the  left  draw  it  from  the  venae  cavae.  This  fact 
is  borne  witness  to  by  Galen,  whose  words,  when  writing 
against  Erasistratus  in  regard  to  the  origin  and  use  of  the 
veins  and  the  coction  of  the  blood,  are  the  following1:  “You 
will  reply,”  he  says,  “that  the  effect  is  so ; that  the  blood 
is  prepared  in  the  liver,  and  is  thence  transferred  to  the 
heart  to  receive  its  proper  form  and  last  perfection ; a state- 
ment which  does  not  appear  devoid  of  reason ; for  no  great 
and  perfect  work  is  ever  accomplished  at  a single  effort,  or 
receives  its  final  polish  from  one  instrument.  But  if  this 
be  actually  so,  then  show  us  another  vessel  which  draws  the 
absolutely  perfect  blood  from  the  heart,  and  distributes  it  as 
the  arteries  do  the  spirits  over  the  whole  body.”  Here  then 
is  a reasonable  opinion  not  allowed,  because,  forsooth,  be- 
sides not  seeing  the  true  means  of  transit,  he  could  not  dis- 
cover the  vessel  which  should  transmit  the  blood  from  the 
heart  to  the  body  at  large ! 

But  had  anyone  been  there  in  behalf  of  Erasistratus,  and 
of  that  opinion  which  we  now  espouse,  and  which  Galen  him- 
self acknowledges  in  other  respects  consonant  with  reason,  to 
1 De  Placitis  Hippocratis  et  Platonis,  vi 


94 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


have  pointed  to  the  aorta  as  the  vessel  which  distributes  the 
blood  from  the  heart  to  the  rest  of  the  body,  I wonder  what 
would  have  been  the  answer  of  that  most  ingenious  and 
learned  man?  Had  he  said  that  the  artery  transmits  spirits 
and  not  blood,  he  would  indeed  sufficiently  have  answered 
Erasistratus,  who  imagined  that  the  arteries  contained 
nothing  but  spirits;  but  then  he  would  have  contradicted 
himself,  and  given  a foul  denial  to  that  for  which  he  had 
keenly  contended  in  his  writings  against  this  very  Erasistra- 
tus, to  wit,  that  blood  in  substance  is  contained  in  the  arter- 
ies, and  not  spirits ; a fact  which  he  demonstrated  not  only 
by  many  powerful  arguments,  but  by  experiments. 

But  if  the  divine  Galen  will  here  allow,  as  in  other  places 
he  does,  “that  all  the  arteries  of  the  body  arise  from  the 
great  artery,  and  that  this  takes  its  origin  from  the  heart; 
that  all  these  vessels  naturally  contain  and  carry  blood;  that 
the  three  semilunar  valves  situated  at  the  orifice  of  the  aorta 
prevent  the  return  of  the  blood  into  the  heart,  and  that 
nature  never  connected  them  with  this,  the  most  noble  viscus 
of  the  body,  unless  for  some  important  end”;  if,  I say,  this 
father  of  physicians  concedes  all  these  things, — and  I quote 
his  own  words, — I do  not  see  how  he  can  deny  that  the 
great  artery  is  the  very  vessel  to  carry  the  blood,  when  it 
has  attained  its  highest  term  of  perfection,  from  the  heart 
for  distribution  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  Or  would  he  per- 
chance still  hesitate,  like  all  who  have  come  after  him,  even 
to  the  present  hour,  because  he  did  not  perceive  the  route 
by  which  the  blood  was  transferred  from  the  veins  to  the 
arteries,  in  consequence,  as  I have  already  said,  of  the 
intimate  connexion  between  the  heart  and  the  lungs?  And 
that  this  difficulty  puzzled  anatomists  not  a little,  when  in 
their  dissections  they  found  the  pulmonary  artery  and  left 
ventricle  full  of  thick,  black,  and  clotted  blood,  plainly 
appears,  when  they  felt  themselves  compelled  to  affirm  that 
the  blood  made  its  way  from  the  right  to  the  left  ventricle 
by  transuding  through  the  septum  of  the  heart.  But  this 
fancy  I have  already  refuted.  A new  pathway  for  the  blood 
must  therefore  be  prepared  and  thrown  open,  and  being  once 
exposed,  no  further  difficulty  will,  I believe,  be  experienced 
by  anyone  in  admitting  what  I have  already  proposed  in 


CIRCULATION  OP  THE  BLOOD 


95 


regard  to  the  pulse  of  the  heart  and  arteries,  viz.,  the 
passage  of  the  blood  from  the  veins  to  the  arteries,  and  its 
distribution  to  the  whole  of  the  body  by  means  of  these 
vessels. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Of  the  Course  by  which  the  Blood  is  Carried  from  the 
Vena  Cava  into  the  Arteries,  or  from  the  Right 
into  the  Left  Ventricle  of  the  Heart 

Since  the  intimate  connexion  of  the  heart  with  the  lungs, 
which  is  apparent  in  the  human  subject,  has  been  the  prob- 
able cause  of  the  errors  that  have  been  committed  on  this 
point,  they  plainly  do  amiss  who,  pretending  to  speak  of  the 
parts  of  animals  generally,  as  anatomists  for  the  most  part 
do,  confine  their  researches  to  the  human  body  alone,  and 
that  when  it  is  dead.  They  obviously  do  not  act  otherwise 
than  he  who,  having  studied  the  forms  of  a single  common- 
wealth, should  set  about  the  composition  of  a general  system 
of  polity ; or  who,  having  taken  cognizance  of  the  nature  of 
a single  field,  should  imagine  that  he  had  mastered  the 
science  of  agriculture;  or  who,  upon  the  ground  of  one 
particular  proposition,  should  proceed  to  draw  general  con- 
clusions. 

Had  anatomists  only  been  as  conversant  with  the  dissec- 
tion of  the  lower  animals  as  they  are  with  that  of  the  human 
body,  the  matters  that  have  hitherto  kept  them  in  a per- 
plexity of  doubt  would,  in  my  opinion,  have  met  them  freed 
from  every  kind  of  difficulty. 

And  first,  in  fishes,  in  which  the  heart  consists  of  but  a 
single  ventricle,  being  devoid  of  lungs,  the  thing  is  sufficient- 
ly manifest.  Here  the  sac,  which  is  situated  at  the  base  of 
the  heart,  and  is  the  part  analogous  to  the  auricle  in  man, 
plainly  forces  the  blood  into  the  heart,  and  the  heart,  in  its 
turn,  conspicuously  transmits  it  by  a pipe  or  artery,  or 
vessel  analogous  to  an  artery;  these  are  facts  which  are  con- 
firmed by  simple  ocular  inspection,  as  well  as  by  a division 
of  the  vessel,  when  the  blood  is  seen  to  be  projected  by  each 
pulsation  of  the  heart. 

The  same  thing  is  also  not  difficult  of  demonstration  in 


96 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


those  animals  that  have,  as  it  were,  no  more  than  a single 
ventricle  to  the  heart,  such  as  toads,  frogs,  serpents,  and 
lizards,  which  have  lungs  in  a certain  sense,  as  they  have 
a voice.  I have  many  observations  by  me  on  the  admirable 
structure  of  the  lungs  of  these  animals,  and  matters  apper- 
taining, which,  however,  I cannot  introduce  in  this  place. 
Their  anatomy  plainly  shows  us  that  the  blood  is  trans- 
ferred in  them  from  the  veins  to  the  arteries  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  higher  animals,  viz.,  by  the  action  of  the  heart ; 
the  way,  in  fact,  is  patent,  open,  manifest;  there  is  no 
difficulty,  no  room  for  doubt  about  it;  for  in  them  the  mat- 
ter stands  precisely  as  it  would  in  man  were  the  septum  of 
his  heart  perforated  or  removed,  or  one  ventricle  made  out 
of  two ; and  this  being  the  case,  I imagine  that  no  one  will 
doubt  as  to  the  way  by  which  the  blood  may  pass  from  the 
veins  into  the  arteries. 

But  as  there  are  actually  more  animals  which  have  no 
lungs  than  there  are  furnished  with  them,  and  in  like  man- 
ner a greater  number  which  have  only  one  ventricle  than 
there  are  with  two,  it  is  open  to  us  to  conclude,  judging  from 
the  mass  or  multitude  of  living  creatures,  that  for  the  major 
part,  and  generally,  there  is  an  open  way  by  which  the 
blood  is  transmitted  from  the  veins  through  the  sinuses  or 
cavities  of  the  heart  into  the  arteries. 

I have,  however,  cogitating  with  myself,  seen  further, 
that  the  same  thing  obtained  most  obviously  in  the  embryos 
of  those  animals  that  have  lungs ; for  in  the  foetus  the  four 
vessels  belonging  to  the  heart,  viz.,  the  vena  cava,  the  pul- 
monary artery,  the  pulmonary  vein,  and  the  great  artery 
or  aorta,  are  all  connected  otherwise  than  in  the  adult,  a 
fact  sufficiently  known  to  every  anatomist.  The  first  con- 
tact and  union  of  the  vena  cava  with  the  pulmonary  veins, 
which  occurs  before  the  cava  opens  properly  into  the  right 
ventricle  of  the  heart,  or  gives  off  the  coronary  vein,  a 
little  above  its  escape  from  the  liver,  is  by  a lateral  anasto- 
mosis; this  is  an  ample  foramen,  of  an  oval  form,  com- 
municating between  the  cava  and  the  pulmonary  vein,  so 
that  the  blood  is  free  to  flow  in  the  greatest  abundance  by 
that  foramen  from  the  vena  cava  into  the  pulmonary  vein, 
and  left  auricle,  and  from  thence  into  the  left  ventricle. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


97 


Farther,  in  this  foramen  ovale,  from  that  part  which  regards 
the  pulmonary  vein,  there  is  a thin  tough  membrane,  larger 
than  the  opening,  extended  like  an  operculum  or  cover ; this 
membrane  in  the  adult  blocking  up  the  foramen,  and  ad- 
hering on  all  sides,  finally  closes  it  up,  and  almost  obliterates 
every  trace  of  it.  In  the  foetus,  however,  this  membrane  is 
so  contrived  that  falling  loosely  upon  itself,  it  permits  a 
ready  access  to  the  lungs  and  heart,  yielding  a passage  to 
the  blood  which  is  streaming  from  the  cava,  and  hindering 
the  tide  at  the  same  time  from  flowing  back  into  that  vein. 
All  things,  in  short,  permit  us  to  believe  that  in  the  em- 
bryo the  blood  must  constantly  pass  by  this  foramen  from 
the  vena  cava  into  the  pulmonary  • vein,  and  from  thence 
into  the  left  auricle  of  the  heart;  and  having  once  entered 
there,  it  can  never  regurgitate. 

Another  union  is  that  by  the  pulmonary  artery,  and  is 
effected  when  that  vessel  divides  into  two  branches  after 
its  escape  from  the  right  ventricle  of  the  heart.  It  is  as  if 
to  the  two  trunks  already  mentioned  a third  were  super- 
added,  a kind  of  arterial  canal,  carried  obliquely  from  the 
pulmonary  artery,  to  perforate  and  terminate  in  the  great 
artery  or  aorta.  So  that  in  the  dissection  of  the  embryo, 
as  it  were,  two  aortas,  or  two  roots  of  the  great  artery, 
appear  springing  from  the  heart.  This  canal  shrinks  gradu- 
ally after  birth,  and  after  a time  becomes  withered,  and 
finally  almost  removed,  like  the  umbilical  vessels. 

The  arterial  canal  contains  no  membrane  or  valve  to  direct 
or  impede  the  flow  of  blood  in  this  or  in  that  direction:  for 
at  the  root  of  the  pulmonary  artery,  of  which  the  arterial 
canal  is  the  continuation  in  the  foetus,  there  are  three  semi- 
lunar valves,  which  open  from  within  outwards,  and  oppose 
no  obstacle  to  the  blood  flowing  in  this  direction  or  from 
the  right  ventricle  into  the  pulmonary  artery  and  aorta ; 
but  they  prevent  all  regurgitation  from  the  aorta  or  pul- 
monic vessels  back  upon  the  right  ventricle;  closing  with 
perfect  accuracy,  they  oppose  an  effectual  obstacle  to  every- 
thing of  the  kind  in  the  embryo.  So  that  there  is  also  rea- 
son to  believe  that  when  the  heart  contracts,  the  blood  is 
regularly  propelled  by  the  canal  or  passage  indicated  from 
the  right  ventricle  into  the  aorta. 

(4)  HPXXXVIII 


98 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


What  is  commonly  said  in  regard  to  these  two  great  com- 
munications, to  wit,  that  they  exist  for  the  nutrition  of  the 
lungs,  is  both  improbable  and  inconsistent;  seeing  that  in 
the  adult  they  are  closed  up,  abolished,  and  consolidated, 
although  the  lungs,  by  reason  of  their  heat  and  motion,  must 
then  be  presumed  to  require  a larger  supply  of  nourishment. 
The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  assertion  that  the 
heart  in  the  embryo  does  not  pulsate,  that  it  neither  acts 
nor  moves,  so  that  nature  was  forced  to  make  these  com- 
munications for  the  nutrition  of  the  lungs.  This  is  plainly 
false ; for  simple  inspection  of  the  incubated  egg,  and  of 
embryos  just  taken  out  of  the  uterus,  shows  that  the  heart 
moves  in  them  precisely  as  in  adults,  and  that  nature  feels 
no  such  necessity.  I have  myself  repeatedly  seen  these  mo- 
tions, and  Aristotle  is  likewise  witness  of  their  reality. 
“ The  pulse,”  he  observes,  “ inheres  in  the  very  constitu- 
tion of  the  heart,  and  appears  from  the  beginning  as  is 
learned  both  from  the  dissection  of  living  animals  and  the 
formation  of  the  chick  in  the  egg.”1  But  we  further  observe 
that  the  passages  in  question  are  not  only  pervious  up  to 
the  period  of  birth  in  man,  as  well  as  in  other  animals,  as 
anatomists  in  general  have  described  them,  but  for  several 
months  subsequently,  in  some  indeed  for  several  years,  not 
to  say  for  the  whole  course  of  life;  as,  for  example,  in  the 
goose,  snipe,  and  various  birds  and  many  of  the  smaller 
animals.  And  this  circumstance  it  was,  perhaps,  that  im- 
posed upon  Botallus,  who  thought  he  had  discovered  a 
new  passage  for  the  blood  from  the  vena  cava  into  the  left 
ventricle  of  the  heart ; and  I own  that  when  I met  with  the 
same  arrangement  in  one  of  the  larger  members  of  the 
mouse  family,  in  the  adult  state,  I was  myself  at  first  led 
to  something  of  a like  conclusion. 

From  this  it  will  be  understood  that  in  the  human  embryo, 
and  in  the  embryos  of  animals  in  which  the  communications 
are  not  closed,  the  same  thing  happens,  namely,  that  the 
heart  by  its  motion  propels  the  blood  by  obvious  and  open 
passages  from  the  vena  cava  into  the  aorta  through  the 
cavities  of  both  the  ventricles,  the  right  one  receiving  the 
blood  from  the  auricle,  and  propelling  it  by  the  pulmonary 
1 Lib.  de  Spiritu,  cap.  v. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


99 


artery  and  its  continuation,  named  the  ductus  arteriosus, 
into  the  aorta ; the  left,  in  like  manner,  charged  by  the  con- 
traction of  its  auricle,  which  has  received  its  supply  through 
the  foramen  ovale  from  the  vena  cava,  contracting,  and 
projecting  the  blood  through  the  root  of  the  aorta  into  the 
trunk  of  that  vessel. 

In  embryos,  consequently,  whilst  the  lungs  are  yet  in 
a state  of  inaction,  performing  no  function,  subject  to  no 
motion  any  more  than  if  they  had  not  been  present,  nature 
uses  the  two  ventricles  of  the  heart  as  if  they  formed  but 
one,  for  the  transmission  of  the  blood.  The  condition  of 
the  embryos  of  those  animals  which  have  lungs,  whilst  these 
organs  are  yet  in  abeyance  and  not  employed,  is  the  same 
as  that  of  those  animals  which  have  no  lungs. 

So  it  clearly  appears  in  the  case  of  the  foetus  that  the 
heart  by  its  action  transfers  the  blood  from  the  vena  cava 
into  the  aorta,  and  that  by  a route  as  obvious  and  open, 
as  if  in  the  adult  the  two  ventricles  were  made  to  com- 
municate by  the  removal  of  their  septum.  We  therefore 
find  that  in  the  greater  number  of  animals — in  all,  indeed, 
at  a certain  period  of  their  existence — the  channels  for  the 
transmission  of  the  blood  through  the  heart  are  conspicuous. 
But  we  have  to  inquire  why  in  some  creatures — those, 
namely,  that  have  warm  blood,  and  that  have  attained  to  the 
adult  age,  man  among  the  number — we  should  not  con- 
clude that  the  same  thing  is  accomplished  through  the  sub- 
stance of  the  lungs,  which  in  the  embryo,  and  at  a time  when 
the  function  of  these  organs  is  in  abeyance,  nature  effects 
by  the  direct  passages  described,  and  which,  indeed,  she 
seems  compelled  to  adopt  through  want  of  a passage  by  the 
lungs;  or  why  it  should  be  better  (for  nature  always  does 
that  which  is  best)  that  she  should  close  up  the  various 
open  routes  which  she  had  formerly  made  use  of  in  the 
embryo  and  foetus,  and  still  uses  in  all  other  animals.  Not 
only  does  she  thereby  open  up  no  new  apparent  channels 
for  the  passages  of  the  blood,  but  she  even  shuts  up  those 
which  formerly  existed. 

And  now  the  discussion  is  brought  to  this  point,  that  they 
who  inquire  into  the  ways  by  which  the  blood  reaches  the 
left  ventricle  of  the  heart  and.  pulmonary  veins  from  the 


100 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


vena  cava,  will  pursue  the  wisest  course  if  they  seek  by 
dissection  to  discover  the  causes  why  in  the  larger  and 
more  perfect  animals  of  mature  age  nature  has  rather 
chosen  to  make  the  blood  percolate  the  parenchyma  of  the 
lungs,  than,  as  in  other  instances,  chosen  a direct  and 
obvious  course — for  I assume  that  no  other  path  or  mode 
of  transit  can  be  entertained.  It  must  be  because  the  larger 
and  more  perfect  animals  are  warmer,  and  when  adult  their 
heat  greater — ignited,  as  I might  say,  and  requiring  to  be 
damped  or  mitigated,  that  the  blood  is  sent  through  the 
lungs,  in  order  that  it  may  be  tempered  by  the  air  that  is 
inspired,  and  prevented  from  boiling  up,  and  so  becoming 
extinguished,  or  something  else  of  the  sort.  But  to  deter- 
mine these  matters,  and  explain  them  satisfactorily,  were  to 
enter  on  a speculation  in  regard  to  the  office  of  the  lungs 
and  the  ends  for  which  they  exist.  Upon  such  a subject,  as 
well  as  upon  what  pertains  to  respiration,  to  the  necessity 
and  use  of  the  air,  etc.,  as  also  to  the  variety  and  diversity 
of  organs  that  exist  in  the  bodies  of  animals  in  connexion 
with  these  matters,  although  I have  made  a vast  number  of 
observations,  I shall  not  speak  till  I can  more  conveniently 
set  them  forth  in  a treatise  apart,  lest  I should  be  held  as 
wandering  too  wide  of  my  present  purpose,  which  is  the 
use  and  motion  of  the  heart,  and  be  charged  with  speaking 
of  things  beside  the  question,  and  rather  complicating  and 
quitting  than  illustrating  it.  And  now  returning  to  my 
immediate  subject,  I go  on  with  what  yet  remains  for  demon- 
stration, viz.,  that  in  the  more  perfect  and  warmer  adult  ani- 
mals, and  man,  the  blood  passes  from  the  right  ventricle  of 
the  heart  by  the  pulmonary  artery,  into  the  lungs,  and  thence 
by  the  pulmonary  veins  into  the  left  auricle,  and  from  there 
into  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart.  And,  first,  I shall 
show  that  this  may  be  so,  and  then  I shall  prove  that  it  is 
so  in  fact. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


101 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  Blood  Passes  through  the  Substance  of  the  Lungs 
from  the  Right  Ventricle  of  the  Heart  into  the 
Pulmonary  Veins  and  Left  Ventricle 

That  this  is  possible,  and  that  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
it  from  being  so,  appears  when  we  reflect  on  the  way  in 
which  water  permeating  the  earth  produces  springs  and 
rivulets,  or  when  we  speculate  on  the  means  by  which  the 
sweat  passes  through  the  skin,  or  the  urine  through  the 
substance  of  the  kidneys.  It  is  well  known  that  persons 
who  use  the  Spa  waters  or  those  of  La  Madonna,  in  the  ter- 
ritories of  Padua,  or  others  of  an  acidulous  or  vitriolated 
nature,  or  who  simply  swallow  drinks  by  the  gallon,  pass 
all  off  again  within  an  hour  or  two  by  the  bladder.  Such  a 
quantity  of  liquid  must  take  some  short  time  in  the  con- 
coction: it  must  pass  through  the  liver  (it  is  allowed  by  all 
that  the  juices  of  the  food  we  consume  pass  twice  through 
this  organ  in  the  course  of  the  day)  ; it  must  flow  through 
the  veins,  through  the  tissues  of  the  kidneys,  and  through 
the  ureters  into  the  bladder. 

To  those,  therefore,  whom  I hear  denying  that  the  blood, 
aye,  the  whole  mass  of  the  blood,  may  pass  through  the 
substance  of  the  lungs,  even  as  the  nutritive  juices  percolate 
the  liver,  asserting  such  a proposition  to  be  impossible,  and 
by  no  means  to  be  entertained  as  credible,  I reply,  with  the 
poet,  that  they  are  of  that  race  of  men  who,  when  they 
will,  assent  full  readily,  and  when  they  will  not,  by  no 
manner  of  means;  who,  when  their  assent  is  wanted,  fear, 
and  when  it  is  not,  fear  not  to  give  it. 

The  substance  of  the  liver  is  extremely  dense,  so  is  that 
of  the  kidney;  the  lungs,  however,  are  of  a much  looser 
texture,  and  if  compared  with  the  kidneys  are  absolutely 
spongy.  In  the  liver  there  is  no  forcing,  no  impelling 
power;  in  the  lungs  the  blood  is  forced  on  by  the  pulse  of 
the  right  ventricle,  the  necessary  effect  of  whose  impulse  is 
the  distension  of  the  vessels  and  the  pores  of  the  lungs. 
And  then  the  lungs,  in  respiration,  are  perpetually  rising 
and  falling:  motions,  the  effect  of  which  must  needs  be 


102 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


to  open  and  shut  the  pores  and  vessels,  precisely  as  in  the 
case  of  a sponge,  and  of  parts  having  a spongy  structure, 
when  they  are  alternately  compressed  and  again  are  suf- 
fered to  expand.  The  liver,  on  the  contrary,  remains  at 
rest,  and  is  never  seen  to  be  dilated  or  constricted.  Lastly, 
if  no  one  denies  the  possibility  in  man,  oxen,  and  the  larger 
animals  generally,  of  the  whole  of  the  ingested  juices  pass- 
ing through  the  liver,  in  order  to  reach  the  vena  cava,  for 
this  reason,  that  if  nourishment  is  to  go  on,  these  juices 
must  needs  get  into  the  veins,  and  there  is  no  other  way 
but  the  one  indicated,  why  should  not  the  same  arguments 
be  held  of  avail  for  the  passage  of  the  blood  in  adults 
through  the  lungs  ? Why  not  maintain,  with  Columbus,  that 
skilful  and  learned  anatomist,  that  it  must  be  so  from  the 
capacity  and  structure  of  the  pulmonary  vessels,  and  from 
the  fact  of  the  pulmonary  veins  and  ventricle  corresponding 
with  them,  being  always  found  to  contain  blood,  which 
must  needs  have  come  from  the  veins,  and  by  no  other 
passage  save  through  the  lungs?  Columbus,  and  we  also, 
from  what  precedes,  from  dissections,  and  other  arguments, 
conceive  the  thing  to  be  clear.  But  as  there  are  some 
who  admit  nothing  unless  upon  authority,  let  them  learn 
that  the  truth  I am  contending  for  can  be  confirmed  from 
Galen’s  own  words,  namely,  that  not  only  may  the  blood 
be  transmitted  from  the  pulmonary  artery  into  the  pul- 
monary veins,  then  into  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart,  and 
from  thence  into  the  arteries  of  the  body,  but  that  this  is 
effected  by  the  ceaseless  pulsation  of  the  heart  and  the 
motion  of  the  lungs  in  breathing. 

There  are,  as  everyone  knows,  three  sigmoid  or  semilunar 
valves  situated  at  the  orifice  of  the  pulmonary  artery,  which 
effectually  prevent  the  blood  sent  into  the  vessel  from 
returning  into  the  cavity  of  the  heart.  Now  Galen,  explain- 
ing the  use  of  these  valves,  and  the  necessity  for  them, 
employs  the  following  language  :*  “ There  is  everywhere  a 
mutual  anastomosis  and  inosculation  of  the  arteries  with  the 
veins,  and  they  severally  transmit  both  blood  and  spirit,  by 
certain  invisible  and  undoubtedly  very  narrow  passages. 
Now  if  the  mouth  of  the  pulmonary  artery  had  stood  in 

1 De  Usu  partium,  lib.  vi,  cap.  io. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


103 


like  manner  continually  open,  and  nature  had  found  no  con- 
trivance for  closing  it  when  requisite,  and  opening  it  again, 
it  would  have  been  impossible  that  the  blood  could  ever 
have  passed  by  the  invisible  and  delicate  mouths,  during 
the  contractions  of  the  thorax,  into  the  arteries;  for  all 
things  are  not  alike  readily  attracted  or  repelled;  but  that 
which  is  light  is  more  readily  drawn  in,  the  instrument  being 
dilated,  and  forced  out  again  when  it  is  contracted,  than 
that  which  is  heavy;  and  in  like  manner  is  anything  drawn 
more  rapidly  along  an  ample  conduit,  and  again  driven 
forth,  than  it  is  through  a narrow  tube.  But  when  the 
thorax  is  contracted  the  pulmonary  veins,  which  are  in  the 
lungs,  being  driven  inwardly,  and  powerfully  compressed 
on  every  side,  immediately  force  out  some  of  the  spirit  they 
contain,  and  at  the  same  time  assume  a certain  portion  of 
blood  by  those  subtle  mouths,  a thing  that  could  never  come 
to  pass  were  the  blood  at  liberty  to  flow  back  into  the  heart 
through  the  great  orifice  of  the  pulmonary  artery.  But  its 
return  through  this  great  opening  being  prevented,  when 
it  is  compressed  on  every  side,  a certain  portion  of  it  distils 
into  the  pulmonary  veins  by  the  minute  orifices  mentioned.” 
And  shortly  afterwards,  in  the  next  chapter,  he  says : “ The 
more  the  thorax  contracts,  the  more  it  strives  to  force  out 
the  blood,  the  more  exactly  do  these  membranes  (viz.,  the 
semilunar  valves)  close  up  the  mouth  of  the  vessel,  and 
suffer  nothing  to  regurgitate.”  The  same  fact  he  has  also 
alluded  to  in  a preceding  part  of  the  tenth  chapter:  “Were 
there  no  valves,  a three-fold  inconvenience  would  result,  so 
that  the  blood  would  then  perform  this  lengthened  course 
in  vain;  it  would  flow  inwards  during  the  disastoles  of  the 
lungs  and  fill  all  their  arteries;  but  in  the  systoles,  in  the 
manner  of  the  tide,  it  would  ever  and  anon,  like  the 
Euripus,  flow  backwards  and  forwards  by  the  same  way, 
with  a reciprocating  motion,  which  would  nowise  suit  the 
blood.  This,  however,  may  seem  a matter  of  little  moment; 
but  if  it  meantime  appear  that  the  function  of  respiration 
suffer,  then  I think  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  no  trifle,  etc.” 
Shortly  afterwards  he  says:  “And  then  a third  inconveni- 
ence, by  no  means  to  be  thought  lightly  of,  would  follow, 
were  the  blood  moved  backwards  during  the  expirations, 


104 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


had  not  our  Maker  instituted  those  supplementary  mem- 
branes.” In  the  eleventh  chapter  he  concludes : “ That  they 
(the  valves)  have  all  a common  use,  and  that  it  is  to  prevent 
regurgitation  or  backward  motion;  each,  however,  having 
a proper  function,  the  one  set  drawing  matters  from  the 
heart,  and  preventing  their  return,  the  other  drawing  mat- 
ters into  the  heart,  and  preventing  their  escape  from  it. 
For  nature  never  intended  to  distress  the  heart  with  need- 
less labour,  neither  to  bring  aught  into  the  organ  which 
it  had  been  better  to  have  kept  away,  nor  to  take  from  it 
again  aught  which  it  was  requisite  should  be  brought. 
Since,  then,  there  are  four  orifices  in  all,  two  in  either  ven- 
tricle, one  of  these  induces,  the  other  educes.”  And  again 
he  says : “ Farther,  since  there  is  one  vessel,  which  con- 
sists of  a simple  covering  implanted  in  the  heart,  and 
another  which  is  double,  extending  from  it  (Galen  is  here 
speaking  of  the  right  side  of  the  heart,  but  I extend 
his  observations  to  the  left  side  also),  a kind  of  reser- 
voir had  to  be  provided,  to  which  both  belonging,  the 
blood  should  be  drawn  in  by  one,  and  sent  out  by  the 
other.” 

Galen  adduces  this  argument  for  the  transit  of  the  blood 
by  the  right  ventricle  from  the  vena  cava  into  the  lungs; 
but  we  can  use  it  with  still  greater  propriety,  merely 
changing  the  terms,  for  the  passage  of  the  blood  from  the 
veins  through  the  heart  into  the  arteries.  From  Galen, 
however,  that  great  man,  that  father  of  physicians,  it 
clearly  appears  that  the  blood  passes  through  the  lungs  from 
the  pulmonary  artery  into  the  minute  branches  of  the  pul- 
monary veins,  urged  to  this  both  by  the  pulses  of  the  heart 
and  by  the  motions  of  the  lungs  and  thorax;  that  the  heart, 
moreover,  is  incessantly  receiving  and  expelling  the  blood 
by  and  from  its  ventricles,  as  from  a magazine  or  cistern, 
and  for  this  end  it  is  furnished  with  four  sets  of  valves, 
two  serving  for  the  induction  and  two  for  the  eduction  of 
the  blood,  lest,  like  the  Euripus,  it  should  be  incommodiously 
sent  hither  and  thither,  or  flow  back  into  the  cavity  which 
it  should  have  quitted,  or  quit  the  part  where  its  presence 
was  required,  and  so  the  heart  might  be  oppressed  with 
labour  in  vain,  and  the  office  of  the  lungs  be  interfered 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


105 


with.®  Finally,  our  position  that  the  blood  is  continually 
permeating  from  the  right  to  the  left  ventricle,  from  the 
vena  cava  into  the  aorta,  through  the  porosities  of  the  lungs, 
plainly  appears  from  this,  that  since  the  blood  is  incessantly 
sent  from  the  right  ventricle  into  the  lungs  by  the  pulmonary 
artery,  and  in  like  manner  is  incessantly  drawn  from  the 
lungs  into  the  left  ventricle,  as  appears  from  what  precedes 
and  the  position  of  the  valves,  it  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
pass  through  continuously.  And  then,  as  the  blood  is  in- 
cessantly flowing  into  the  right  ventricle  of  the  heart, 
and  is  continually  passed  out  from  the  left,  as  appears  in 
like  manner,  and  as  is  obvious,  both  to  sense  and  reason, 
it  is  impossible  that  the  blood  can  do  otherwise  than  pass 
continually  from  the  vena  cava  into  the  aorta. 

Dissection  consequently  shows  distinctly  what  takes  place 
in  the  majority  of  animals,  and  indeed  in  all,  up  to  the 
period  of  their  maturity;  and  that  the  same  thing  occurs  in 
adults  is  equally  certain,  both  from  Galen's  words,  and  what 
has  already  been  said,  only  that  in  the  former  the  transit 
is  effected  by  open  and  obvious  passages,  in  the  latter  by 
the  hidden  porosities  of  the  lungs  and  the  minute  inos- 
culations of  vessels.  It  therefore  appears  that,  although 
one  ventricle  of  the  heart,  the  left  to  wit,  would  suffice 
for  the  distribution  of  the  blood  over  the  body,  and  its 
eduction  from  the  vena  cava,  as  indeed  is  done  in  those 
creatures  that  have  no  lungs,  nature,  nevertheless,  when 
she  ordained  that  the  same  blood  should  also  percolate 
the  lungs,  saw  herself  obliged  to  add  the  right  ventricle, 
the  pulse  of  which  should  force  the  blood  from  the  vena 
cava  through  the  lungs  into  the  cavity  of  the  left  ven- 
tricle. In  this  way,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  right  ventricle 
is  made  for  the  sake  of  the  lungs,  and  for  the  trans- 
mission of  the  blood  through  them,  not  for  their  nutrition; 
for  it  were  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  lungs  should 
require  so  much  more  copious  a supply  of  nutriment,  and 
that  of  so  much  purer  and  more  spirituous  a nature  as 
coming  immediately  from  the  ventricle  of  the  heart,  that 
either  the  brain,  with  its  peculiarly  pure  substance,  or 

3 See  the  Commentary  of  the  learned  Hofmann  upon  the  Sixth  Book  of 
Galen,  “ De  Usu  partium,”  a work  which  I first  saw  after  I had  written 
what  precedes. 


106 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


the  eyes,  with  their  lustrous  and  truly  admirable  struc- 
ture, or  the  flesh  of  the  heart  itself,  which  is  more  suitably 
nourished  by  the  coronary  artery. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Of  the  Quantity  of  Blood  Passing  Through  the  Heart 
from  the  Veins  to  the  Arteries;  and  of  the  Cir- 
cular Motion  of  the  Blood 

Thus  far  I have  spoken  of  the  passage  of  the  blood 
from  the  veins  into  the  arteries,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  transmitted  and  distributed  by  the  action  of  the 
heart;  points  to  which  some,  moved  either  by  the  authority 
of  Galen  or  Columbus,  or  the  reasonings  of  others,  will 
give  in  their  adhesion.  But  what  remains  to  be  said 
upon  the  quantity  and  source  of  the  blood  which  thus 
passes  is  of  a character  so  novel  and  unheard-of  that  I 
not  only  fear  injury  to  myself  from  the  envy  of  a few, 
but  I tremble  lest  I have  mankind  at  large  for  my  enemies, 
so  much  doth  wont  and  custom  become  a second  nature. 
Doctrine  once  sown  strikes  deep  its  root,  and  respect  for 
antiquity  influences  all  men.  Still  the  die  is  cast,  and  my 
trust  is  in  my  love  of  truth  and  the  candour  of  cultivated 
minds.  And  sooth  to  say,  when  I surveyed  my  mass  of  evi- 
dence, whether  derived  from  vivisections,  and  my  various  re- 
flections on  them,  or  from  the  study  of  the  ventricles  of  the 
heart  and  the  vessels  that  enter  into  and  issue  from  them,  the 
symmetry  and  size  of  these  conduits, — for  nature  doing 
nothing  in  vain,  would  never  have  given  them  so  large  a 
relative  size  without  a purpose, — or  from  observing  the 
arrangement  and  intimate  structure  of  the  valves  in  par- 
ticular, and  of  the  other  parts  of  the  heart  in  general, 
with  many  things  besides,  I frequently  and  seriously  be- 
thought me,  and  long  revolved  in  my  mind,  what  might 
be  the  quantity  of  blood  which  was  transmitted,  in  how 
short  a time  its  passage  might  be  effected,  and  the  like. 
But  not  finding  it  possible  that  this  could  be  supplied  by 
the  juices  of  the  ingested  aliment  without  the  veins  on 
the  one  hand  becoming  drained,  and  the  arteries  on  the 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


107 


other  getting  ruptured  through  the  excessive  charge  of 
blood,  unless  the  blood  should  somehow  find  its  way  from 
the  arteries  into  the  veins,  and  so  return  to  the  right  side 
of  the  heart,  I began  to  think  whether  there  might  not 
be  a MOTION,  AS  IT  WERE,  IN  A CIRCLE.  Now, 
this  I afterwards  found  to  be  true ; and  I finally  saw 
that  the  blood,  forced  by  the  action  of  the  left  ventricle 
into  the  arteries,  was  distributed  to  the  body  at  large,  and 
its  several  parts,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  sent  through 
the  lungs,  impelled  by  the  right  ventricle  into  the  pul- 
monary artery,  and  that  it  then  passed  through  the  veins 
and  along  the  vena  cava,  and  so  round  to  the  left  ventricle 
in  the  manner  already  indicated.  This  motion  we  may 
be  allowed  to  call  circular,  in  the  same  way  as  Aristotle 
says  that  the  air  and  the  rain  emulate  the  circular  motion 
of  the  superior  bodies;  for  the  moist  earth,  warmed  by  the 
sun,  evaporates;  the  vapours  drawn  upwards  are  condensed, 
and  descending  in  the  form  of  rain,  moisten  the  earth 
again.  By  this  arrangement  are  generations  of  living 
things  produced ; and  in  like  manner  are  tempests  and 
meteors  engendered  by  the  circular  motion,  and  by  the 
approach  and  recession  of  the  sun. 

And  similarly  does  it  come  to  pass  in  the  body,  through 
the  motion  of  the  blood,  that  the  various  parts  are  nour- 
ished, cherished,  quickened  by  the  warmer,  more  perfect, 
vaporous,  spirituous,  and,  as  I may  say,  alimentive  blood; 
which,  on  the  other  hand,  owing  to  its  contact  with  these 
parts,  becomes  cooled,  coagulated,  and  so  to  speak  effete. 
It  then  returns  to  its  sovereign,  the  heart,  as  if  to  its 
source,  or  to  the  inmost  home  of  the  body,  there  to  re- 
cover its  state  of  excellence  or  perfection.  Here  it  re- 
news its  fluidity,  natural  heat,  and  becomes  powerful,  fervid, 
a kind  of  treasury  of  life,  and  impregnated  with  spirits, 
it  might  be  said  with  balsam.  Thence  it  is  again  dispersed. 
All  this  depends  on  the  motion  and  action  of  the  heart. 

The  heart,  consequently,  is  the  beginning  of  life;  the 
sun  of  the  microcosm,  even  as  the  sun  in  his  turn  might 
well  be  designated  the  heart  of  the  world;  for  it  is  the 
heart  by  whose  virtue  and  pulse  the  blood  is  moved,  per- 
fected, and  made  nutrient,  and  is  preserved  from  cor- 


108 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


ruption  and  coagulation;  it  is  the  household  divinity  which, 
discharging  its  function,  nourishes,  cherishes,  quickens  the 
whole  body,  and  is  indeed  the  foundation  of  life,  the  source 
of  all  action.  But  of  these  things  we  shall  speak  more 
opportunely  when  we  come  to  speculate  upon  the  final 
cause  of  this  motion  of  the  heart. 

As  the  blood-vessels,  therefore,  are  the  canals  and  agents 
that  transport  the  blood,  they  are  of  two  kinds,  the  cava 
and  the  aorta;  and  this  not  by  reason  of  there  being  two 
sides  of  the  body,  as  Aristotle  has  it,  but  because  of  the 
difference  of  office,  not,  as  is  commonly  said,  in  conse- 
quence of  any  diversity  of  structure,  for  in  many  animals, 
as  I have  said,  the  vein  does  not  differ  from  the  artery 
in  the  thickness  of  its  walls,  but  solely  in  virtue  of  their 
distinct  functions  and  uses.  A vein  and  an  artery,  both 
styled  veins  by  the  ancients,  and  that  not  without  reason, 
as  Galen  has  remarked,  for  the  artery  is  the  vessel  which 
carries  the  blood  from  the  heart  to  the  body  at  large,  the 
vein  of  the  present  day  bringing  it  back  from  the  general 
system  to  the  heart;  the  former  is  the  conduit  from,  the 
latter  the  channel  to,  the  heart;  the  latter  contains  the 
cruder,  effete  blood,  rendered  unfit  for  nutrition;  the 
former  transmits  the  digested,  perfect,  peculiarly  nutritive 
fluid. 


CHAPTER  IX 

That  there  is  a Circulation  of  the  Blood  is  Confirmed 
from  the  First  Proposition 

But  lest  anyone  should  say  that  we  give  them  words 
only,  and  make  mere  specious  assertions  without  any  founda- 
tion, and  desire  to  innovate  without  sufficient  cause,  three 
points  present  themselves  for  confirmation,  which,  being 
stated,  I conceive  that  the  truth  I contend  for  will  follow 
necessarily,  and  appear  as  a thing  obvious  to  all.  First, 
the  blood  is  incessantly  transmitted  by  the  action  of  the 
heart  from  the  vena  cava  to  the  arteries  in  such  quantity 
that  it  cannot  be  supplied  from  the  ingesta,  and  in  such 
a manner  that  the  whole  must  very  quickly  pass  through 
the  organ;  second,  the  blood  under  the  influence  of  the 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


109 


arterial  pulse  enters  and  is  impelled  in  a continuous,  equable, 
and  incessant  stream  through  every  part  and  member  of 
the  body,  in  much  larger  quantity  than  were  sufficient  for 
nutrition,  or  than  the  whole  mass  of  fluids  could  supply; 
third,  the  veins  in  like  manner  return  this  blood  incessantly 
to  the  heart  from  parts  and  members  of  the  body.  These 
points  proved,  I conceive  it  will  be  manifest  that  the 
blood  circulates,  revolves,  propelled  and  then  returning, 
from  the  heart  to  the  extremities,  from  the  extremities  to  the 
heart,  and  thus  that  it  performs  a kind  of  circular  motion. 

Let  us  assume,  either  arbitrarily  or  from  experiment, 
the  quantity  of  blood  which  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart 
will  contain  when  distended,  to  be,  say,  two  ounces,  three 
ounces,  or  one  ounce  and  a half— in  the  dead  body  I have 
found  it  to  hold  upwards  of  two  ounces.  Let  us  assume 
further  how  much  less  the  heart  will  hold  in  the  contracted 
than  in  the  dilated  state ; and  how  much  blood  it  will  pro- 
ject into  the  aorta  upon  each  contraction;  and  all  the  world 
allows  that  with  the  systole  something  is  always  projected, 
a necessary  consequence  demonstrated  in  the  third  chapter, 
and  obvious  from  the  structure  of  the  valves;  and  let  us 
suppose  as  approaching  the  truth  that  the  fourth,  or  fifth, 
or  sixth,  or  even  but  the  eighth  part  of  its  charge  is  thrown 
into  the  artery  at  each  contraction ; this  would  give  either 
half  an  ounce,  or  three  drachms,  or  one  drachm  of  blood 
as  propelled  by  the  heart  at  each  pulse  into  the  aorta; 
which  quantity,  by  reason  of  the  valves  at  the  root  of 
the  vessel,  can  by  no  means  return  into  the  ventricle. 
Now,  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  the  heart  will  have 
made  more  than  one  thousand  beats,  in  some  as  many  as 
two,  three,  and  even  four  thousand.  Multiplying  the  num- 
ber of  drachms  propelled  by  the  number  of  pulses,  we 
shall  have  either  one  thousand  half  ounces,  or  one  thou- 
sand times  three  drachms,  or  a like  proportional  quantity 
of  blood,  according  to  the  amount  which  we  assume  as 
propelled  with  each  stroke  of  the  heart,  sent  from  this 
organ  into  the  artery — a larger  quantity  in  every  case  than 
is  contained  in  the  whole  body ! In  the  same  way,  in 
the  sheep  or  dog,  say  but  a single  scruple  of  blood  passes 
with  each  stroke  of  the  heart,  in  one  half-hour  we  should 


110 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


have  one  thousand  scruples,  or  about  three  pounds  and  a 
half,  of  blood  injected  into  the  aorta;  but  the  body  of  neither 
animal  contains  above  four  pounds  of  blood,  a fact  which 
I have  myself  ascertained  in  the  case  of  the  sheep. 

Upon  this  supposition,  therefore,  assumed  merely  as  a 
ground  for  reasoning,  we  see  the  whole  mass  of  blood 
passing  through  the  heart,  from  the  veins  to  the  arteries, 
and  in  like  manner  through  the  lungs. 

But  let  it  be  said  that  this  does  not  take  place  in  half 
an  hour,  but  in  an  hour,  or  even  in  a day;  any  way,  it 
is  still  manifest  that  more  blood  passes  through  the  heart 
in  consequence  of  its  action,  than  can  either  be  supplied 
by  the  whole  of  the  ingesta,  or  than  can  be  contained  in 
the  veins  at  the  same  moment. 

Nor  can  it  be  allowed  that  the  heart  in  contracting 
sometimes  propels  and  sometimes  does  not  propel,  or  at 
most  propels  but  very  little,  a mere  nothing,  or  an  imagi- 
nary something:  all  this,  indeed,  has  already  been  refuted, 
and  is,  besides,  contrary  both  to  sense  and  reason.  For 
if  it  be  a necessary  effect  of  the  dilatation  of  the  heart 
that  its  ventricles  become  filled  with  blood,  it  is  equally 
so  that,  contracting,  these  cavities  should  expel  their  con- 
tents; and  this  not  in  any  trifling  measure.  For  neither 
are  the  conduits  small,  nor  the  contractions  few  in  num- 
ber, but  frequent,  and  always  in  some  certain  proportion, 
whether  it  be  a third  or  a sixth,  or  an  eighth,  to  the 
total  capacity  of  the  ventricles,  so  that  a like  proportion 
of  blood  must  be  expelled,  and  a like  proportion  received 
with  each  stroke  of  the  heart,  the  capacity  of  the  ven- 
tricle contracted  always  bearing  a certain  relation  to  the 
capacity  of  the  ventricle  when  dilated.  And  since,  in 
dilating,  the  ventricles  cannot  be  supposed  to  get  filled 
with  nothing,  or  with  an  imaginary  something,  so  in  con- 
tracting they  never  expel  nothing  or  aught  imaginary,  but 
always  a certain  something,  viz.,  blood,  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  the  contraction.  Whence  it  is  to  be  con- 
cluded that  if  at  one  stroke  the  heart  of  man,  the  ox,  or 
the  sheep,  ejects  but  a single  drachm  of  blood  and  there 
are  one  thousand  strokes  in  half  an  hour,  in  this  interval 
there  will  have  been  ten  pounds  five  ounces  expelled;  if 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


111 


with  each  stroke  two  drachms  are  expelled,  the  quantity 
would,  of  course,  amount  to  twenty  pounds  and  ten  ounces; 
if  half  an  ounce,  the  quantity  would  come  to  forty-one 
pounds  and  eight  ounces;  and  were  there  one  ounce,  it 
would  be  as  much  as  eighty-three  pounds  and  four  ounces ; 
the  whole  of  which,  in  the  course  of  one-half  hour,  would 
have  been  transfused  from  the  veins  to  the  arteries.  The 
actual  quantity  of  blood  expelled  at  each  stroke  of  the 
heart,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  is  either  greater 
or  less  than  ordinary,  I leave  for  particular  determination 
afterwards,  from  numerous  observations  which  I have  made 
on  the  subject. 

Meantime  this  much  I know,  and  would  here  proclaim 
to  all,  that  the  blood  is  transfused  at  one  time  in  larger, 
at  another  in  smaller,  quantity;  and  that  the  circuit  of 
the  blood  is  accomplished  now  more  rapidly,  now  more 
slowly,  according  to  the  temperament,  age,  etc.,  of  the 
individual,  to  external  and  internal  circumstances,  to  natu- 
rals and  non-naturals — sleep,  rest,  food,  exercise,  affec- 
tions of  the  mind,  and  the  like.  But,  supposing  even  the 
smallest  quantity  of  blood  to  be  passed  through  the  heart 
and  the  lungs  with  each  pulsation,  a vastly  greater  amount 
would  still  be  thrown  into  the  arteries  and  whole  body 
than  could  by  any  possibility  be  supplied  by  the  food 
consumed.  It  could  be  furnished  in  no  other  way  than  by 
making  a circuit  and  returning. 

This  truth,  indeed,  presents  itself  obviously  before  us 
when  we  consider  what  happens  in  the  dissection  of  living 
animals;  the  great  artery  need  not  be  divided,  but  a very 
small  branch  only  (as  Galen  even  proves  in  regard  to 
man),  to  have  the  whole  of  the  blood  in  the  body,  as 
well  that  of  the  veins  as  of  the  arteries,  drained  away 
in  the  course  of  no  long  time — some  half-hour  or  less. 
Butchers  are  well  aware  of  the  fact  and  can  bear  witness 
to  it;  for,  cutting  the  throat  of  an  ox  and  so  dividing 
the  vessels  of  the  neck,  in  less  than  a quarter  of  an  hour 
they  have  all  the  vessels  bloodless — the  whole  mass  of 
blood  has  escaped.  The  same  thing  also  occasionally  oc- 
curs with  great  rapidity  in  performing  amputations  and  re- 
moving tumors  in  the  human  subject. 


112 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


Nor  would  this  argument  lose  of  its  force,  did  any  one 
say  that  in  killing  animals  in  the  shambles,  and  perform- 
ing amputations,  the  blood  escaped  in  equal,  if  not  per- 
chance in  larger  quantity  by  the  veins  than  by  the  ar- 
teries. The  contrary  of  this  statement,  indeed,  is  certainly 
the  truth ; the  veins,  in  fact,  collapsing,  and  being  without 
any  propelling  power,  and  further,  because  of  the  impedi- 
ment of  the  valves,  as  I shall  show  immediately,  pour 
out  but  very  little  blood ; whilst  the  arteries  spout  it  forth 
with  force  abundantly,  impetuously,  and  as  if  it  were 
propelled  by  a syringe.  And  then  the  experiment  is  easily 
tried  of  leaving  the  vein  untouched  and  only  dividing  the 
artery  in  the  neck  of  a sheep  or  dog,  when  it  will  be  seen 
with  what  force,  in  what  abundance,  and  how  quickly, 
the  whole  blood  in  the  body,  of  the  veins  as  well  as  of 
the  arteries,  is  emptied.  But  the  arteries  receive  blood 
from  the  veins  in  no  other  way  than  by  transmission 
through  the  heart,  as  we  have  already  seen ; so  that  if  the 
aorta  be  tied  at  the  base  of  the  heart,  and  the  carotid  or 
any  other  artery  be  opened,  no  one  will  now  be  surprised 
to  find  it  empty,  and  the  veins  only  replete  with  blood. 

And  now  the  cause  is  manifest,  why  in  our  dissections 
we  usually  find  so  large  a quantity  of  blood  in  the  veins, 
so  little  in  the  arteries;  why  there  is  much  in  the  right 
ventricle,  little  in  the  left,  which  probably  led  the  an- 
cients to  believe  that  the  arteries  (as  their  name  implies) 
contained  nothing  but  spirits  during  the  life  of  an  animal. 
The  true  cause  of  the  difference  is  perhaps  this,  that  as 
there  is  no  passage  to  the  arteries,  save  through  the 
lungs  and  heart,  when  an  animal  has  ceased  to  breathe 
and  the  lungs  to  move,  the  blood  in  the  pulmonary  artery 
is  prevented  from  passing  into  the  pulmonary  veins,  and 
from  thence  into  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart;  just  as 
we  have  already  seen  the  same  transit  prevented  in  the 
embryo,  by  the  want  of  movement  in  the  lungs  and  the 
alternate  opening  and  shutting  of  their  hidden  and  in- 
visible porosities  and  apertures.  But  the  heart  not  ceas- 
ing to  act  at  the  same  precise  moment  as  the  lungs,  but 
surviving  them  and  continuing  to  pulsate  for  a time,  the 
left  ventricle  and  arteries  go  on  distributing  their  blood 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


113 


to  the  body  at  large  and  sending  it  into  the  veins;  re- 
ceiving none  from  the  lungs,  however,  they  are  soon  ex- 
hausted, and  left,  as  it  were,  empty.  But  even  this  fact 
confirms  our  views,  in  no  trifling  manner,  seeing  that 
it  can  be  ascribed  to  no  other  than  the  cause  we  have 
just  assumed. 

Moreover,  it  appears  from  this  that  the  more  frequently 
or  forcibly  the  arteries  pulsate,  the  more  speedily  will  the 
body  be  exhausted  of  its  blood  during  hemorrhage.  Hence, 
also,  it  happens,  that  in  fainting  fits  and  in  states  of 
alarm,  when  the  heart  beats  more  languidly  and  less  forcibly, 
hemorrhages  are  diminished  and  arrested. 

Still  further,  it  is  from  this,  that  after  death,  when 
the  heart  has  ceased  to  beat,  it  is  impossible,  by  dividing 
either  the  jugular  or  femoral  veins  and  arteries,  by  any 
effort,  to  force  out  more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  mass 
of  the  blood.  Neither  could  the  butchers  ever  bleed  the 
carcass  effectually  did  he  neglect  to  cut  the  throat  of  the 
ox  which  he  has  knocked  on  the  head  and  stunned,  before 
the  heart  had  ceased  beating. 

Finally,  we  are  now  in  a condition  to  suspect  where- 
fore it  is  that  no  one  has  yet  said  anything  to  the  purpose 
upon  the  anastomosis  of  the  veins  and  arteries,  either 
as  to  where  or  how  it  is  effected,  or  for  what  purpose. 
I now  enter  upon  the  investigation  of  the  subject. 

CHAPTER  X 

The  First  Position:  of  the  Quantity  of  Blood  Passing 
from  the  Veins  to  the  Arteries.  And  that  there  is 
a Circuit  of  the  Blood,  Freed  from  Objections,  and 
Farther  Confirmed  by  Experiment 

So  far  our  first  position  is  confirmed,  whether  the  thing 
be  referred  to  calculation  or  to  experiment  and  dissection, 
viz.,  that  the  blood  is  incessantly  poured  into  the  arteries 
in  larger  quantities  than  it  can  be  supplied  by  the  food ; 
so  that  the  whole  passing  over  in  a short  space  of  time, 
it  is  matter  of  necessity  that  the  blood  perform  a circuit, 
that  it  return  to  whence  it  set  out. 


114 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


But  if  anyone  shall  here  object  that  a large  quantity 
may  pass  through  and  yet  no  necessity  be  found  for  a 
circulation,  that  all  may  come  from  the  meat  and  drink 
consumed,  and  quote  as  an  illustration  the  abundant  supply 
of  milk  in  the  mammae — for  a cow  will  give  three,  four, 
and  even  seven  gallons  and  more  in  a day,  and  a woman 
two  or  three  pints  whilst  nursing  a child  or  twins,  which 
must  manifestly  be  derived  from  the  food  consumed;  it 
may  be  answered  that  the  heart  by  computation  does  as 
much  and  more  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two. 

And  if  not  yet  convinced,  he  shall  still  insist  that  when 
an  artery  is  divided,  a preternatural  route  is,  as  it  were, 
opened,  and  that  so  the  blood  escapes  in  torrents,  but  that 
the  same  thing  does  not  happen  in  the  healthy  and  un- 
injured body  when  no  outlet  is  made;  and  that  in  ar- 
teries filled,  or  in  their  natural  state,  so  large  a quantity 
of  blood  cannot  pass  in  so  short  a space  of  time  as  to 
make  any  return  necessary — to  all  this  it  may  be  answered 
that,  from  the  calculation  already  made,  and  the  rea- 
sons assigned,  it  appears  that  by  so  much  as  the  heart  in 
its  dilated  state  contains,  in  addition  to  its  contents 
in  the  state  of  constriction,  so  much  in  a general  way 
must  it  emit  upon  each  pulsation,  and  in  such  quantity 
must  the  blood  pass,  the  body  being  entire  and  naturally 
constituted. 

But  in  serpents,  and  several  fishes,  by  tying  the  veins 
some  way  below  the  heart  you  will  perceive  a space  be- 
tween the  ligature  and  the  heart  speedily  to  become  empty; 
so  that,  unless  you  would  deny  the  evidence  of  your  senses, 
you  must  needs  admit  the  return  of  the  blood  to  the  heart. 
The  same  thing  will  also  plainly  appear  when  we  come 
to  discuss  our  second  position. 

Let  us  here  conclude  with  a single  example,  confirming 
all  that  has  been  said,  and  from  which  everyone  may  ob- 
tain conviction  through  the  testimony  of  his  own  eyes. 

If  a live  snake  be  laid  open,  the  heart  will  be  seen 
pulsating  quietly,  distinctly,  for  more  than  an  hour,  mov- 
ing like  a worm,  contracting  in  its  longitudinal  dimensions, 
(for  it  is  of  an  oblong  shape),  and  propelling  its  con- 
tents. It  becomes  of  a paler  colour  in  the  systole,  of  a 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


115 


deeper  tint  in  the  diastole;  and  almost  all  things  else  are 
seen  by  which  I have  already  said  that  the  truth  I con- 
tend for  is  established,  only  that  here  everything  takes 
place  more  slowly,  and  is  more  distinct.  This  point  in 
particular  may  be  observed  more  clearly  than  the  noon- 
day sun : the  vena  cava  enters  the  heart  at  its  lower  part, 
the  artery  quits  it  at  the  superior  part;  the  vein  being 
now  seized  either  with  forceps  or  between  the  finger  and 
the  thumb,  and  the  course  of  the  blood  for  some  space 
below  the  heart  interrupted,  you  will  perceive  the  part 
that  intervenes  between  the  fingers  and  the  heart  almost 
immediately  to  become  empty,  the  blood  being  exhausted 
by  the  action  of  the  heart;  at  the  same  time  the  heart 
will  become  of  a much  paler  colour,  even  in  its  state  of 
dilatation,  than  it  was  before;  it  is  also  smaller  than  at 
first,  from  wanting  blood:  and  then  it  begins  to  beat  more 
slowly,  so  that  it  seems  at  length  as  if  it  were  about  to 
die.  But  the  impediment  to  the  flow  of  blood  being  re- 
moved, instantly  the  colour  and  the  size  of  the  heart  are 
restored. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  artery  instead  of  the  vein  be 
compressed  or  tied,  you  will  observe  the  part  between  the 
obstacle  and  the  heart,  and  the  heart  itself,  to  become 
inordinately  distended,  to  assume  a deep  purple  or  even 
livid  colour,  and  at  length  to  be  so  much  oppressed  with 
blood  that  you  will  believe  it  about  to  be  choked;  but  the 
obstacle  removed,  all  things  immediately  return  to  their 
natural  state  and  colour,  size,  and  impulse. 

Here  then  we  have  evidence  of  two  kinds  of  death: 
extinction  from  deficiency,  and  suffocation  from  excess. 
Examples  of  both  have  now  been  set  before  you,  and  you 
have  had  opportunity  of  viewing  the  truth  contended  for 
with  your  own  eyes  in  the  heart. 

CHAPTER  XI 

The  Second  Position  is  Demonstrated 

That  this  may  the  more  clearly  appear  to  everyone,  I 
have  here  to  cite  certain  experiments,  from  which  it  seems 


116 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


obvious  that  the  blood  enters  a limb  by  the  arteries,  and 
returns  from  it  by  the  veins;  that  the  arteries  are  the 
vessels  carrying  the  blood  from  the  heart,  and  the  veins 
the  returning  channels  of  the  blood  to  the  heart;  that  in 
the  limbs  and  extreme  parts  of  the  body  the  blood  passes 
either  immediately  by  anastomosis  from  the  arteries  into 
the  veins,  or  mediately  by  the  porosities  of  the  flesh,  or 
in  both  ways,  as  has  already  been  said  in  speaking  of 
the  passage  of  the  blood  through  the  lungs  whence  it  ap- 
pears manifest  that  in  the  circuit  the  blood  moves  from 
that  place  to  this  place,  and  from  that  point  to  this  one ; 
from  the  centre  to  the  extremities,  to  wit;  and  from 
the  extreme  parts  back  to  the  centre.  Finally,  upon 
grounds  of  calculation,  with  the  same  elements  as  be- 
fore, it  will  be  obvious  that  the  quantity  can  neither  be 
accounted  for  by  the  ingesta,  nor  yet  be  held  necessary  to 
nutrition. 

The  same  thing  will  also  appear  in  regard  to  ligatures, 
and  wherefore  they  are  said  to  draw;  though  this  is  neither 
from  the  heat,  nor  the  pain,  nor  the  vacuum  they  occasion, 
nor  indeed  from  any  other  cause  yet  thought  of ; it  will 
also  explain  the  uses  and  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
ligatures  in  medicine,  the  principle  upon  which  they  either 
suppress  or  occasion  hemorrhage;  how  they  induce  slough- 
ing and  more  extensive  mortification  in  extremities;  and 
how  they  act  in  the  castration  of  animals  and  the  removal 
of  warts  and  fleshy  tumours.  But  it  has  come  to  pass, 
from  no  one  having  duly  weighed  and  understood  the 
cause  and  rationale  of  these  various  effects,  that  though 
almost  all,  upon  the  faith  of  the  old  writers,  recommend 
ligatures  in  the  treatment  of  disease,  yet  very  few  com- 
prehend their  proper  employment,  or  derive  any  real  as- 
sistance from  them  in  effecting  cures. 

Ligatures  are  either  very  tight  or  of  medium  tight- 
ness. A ligature  I designate  as  tight  or  perfect  when  it 
so  constricts  an  extremity  that  no  vessel  can  be  felt  pul- 
sating beyond  it.  Such  a ligature  we  use  in  amputations 
to  control  the  flow  of  blood;  and  such  also  are  employed 
in  the  castration  of  animals  and  the  ablation  of  tumours. 
In  the  latter  instances,  all  afflux  of  nutriment  and  heat 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


117 


being  prevented  by  the  ligature,  we  see  the  testes  and 
large  fleshy  tumours  dwindle,  die,  and  finally  fall  off. 

Ligatures  of  medium  tightness  I regard  as  those  which 
compress  a limb  firmly  all  round,  but  short  of  pain,  and  in 
such  a way  as  still  suffers  a certain  degree  of  pulsation 
to  be  felt  in  the  artery  beyond  them.  Such  a ligature 
is  in  use  in  blood-letting,  an  operation  in  which  the  fillet 
applied  above  the  elbow  is  not  drawn  so  tight  but  that  the 
arteries  at  the  wrist  may  still  be  felt  beating  under  the 
finger. 

Now  let  anyone  make  an  experiment  upon  the  arm 
of  a man,  either  using  such  a fillet  as  is  employed  in 
blood-letting,  or  grasping  the  limb  lightly  with  his  hand, 
the  best  subject  for  it  being  one  who  is  lean,  and  who 
has  large  veins,  and  the  best  time  after  exercise,  when 
the  body  is  warm,  the  pulse  is  full,  and  the  blood  carried 
in  larger  quantity  to  the  extremities,  for  all  then  is  more 
conspicuous ; under  such  circumstances  let  a ligature  be 
thrown  about  the  extremity,  and  drawn  as  tightly  as  can 
be  borne,  it  will  first  be  perceived  that  beyond  the  ligature, 
neither  in  the  wrist  nor  anywhere  else,  do  the  arteries 
pulsate,  at  the  same  time  that  immediately  above  the  liga- 
ture the  artery  begins  to  rise  higher  at  each  diastole,  to 
throb  more  violently,  and  to  swell  in  its  vicinity  with  a 
kind  of  tide,  as  if  it  strove  to  break  through  and  over- 
come the  obstacle  to  its  current;  the  artery  here,  in 
short,  appears  as  if  it  were  preternaturally  full.  The  hand 
under  such  circumstances  retains  its  natural  colour  and 
appearance;  in  the  course  of  time  it  begins  to  fall 
somewhat  in  temperature,  indeed,  but  nothing  is  drawn 
into  it. 

After  the  bandage  has  been  kept  on  for  some  short 
time  in  this  way,  let  it  be  slackened  a little,  brought  to 
that  state  or  term  of  medium  tightness  which  is  used  in 
bleeding,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  hand  and 
arm  will  instantly  become  deeply  coloured  and  distended, 
and  the  veins  show  themselves  tumid  and  knotted;  after 
ten  or  twelve  pulses  of  the  artery,  the  hand  will  be  per- 
ceived excessively  distended,  injected,  gorged  with  blood, 
drawn,  as  it  is  said,  by  this  medium  ligature,  without  pain, 


118 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


or  heat,  or  any  horror  of  a vacuum,  or  any  other  cause 
yet  indicated. 

If  the  finger  be  applied  over  the  artery  as  it  is  pulsating  by 
the  edge  of  the  fillet,  at  the  moment  of  slackening  it,  the 
blood  will  be  felt  to  glide  through,  as  it  were,  underneath 
the  finger;  and  he,  too,  upon  whose  arm  the  experiment 
is  made,  when  the  ligature  is  slackened,  is  distinctly  con- 
scious of  a sensation  of  warmth,  and  of  something,  viz.,  a 
stream  of  blood  suddenly  making  its  way  along  the  course 
of  the  vessels  and  diffusing  itself  through  the  hand,  which 
at  the  same  time  begins  to  feel  hot,  and  becomes  distended. 

As  we  had  noted,  in  connexion  with  the  tight  ligature, 
that  the  artery  above  the  bandage  was  distended  and  pulsated, 
not  below  it,  so,  in  the  case  of  the  moderately  tight  bandage, 
on  the  contrary,  do  we  find  that  the  veins  below,  never  above, 
the  fillet,  swell,  and  become  dilated,  whilst  the  arteries 
shrink ; and  such  is  the  degree  of  distension  of  the  veins 
here,  that  it  is  only  very  strong  pressure  that  will  force 
the  blood  beyond  the  fillet,  and  cause  any  of  the  veins  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  arm  to  rise. 

From  these  facts  it  is  easy  for  every  careful  observer  to 
learn  that  the  blood  enters  an  extremity  by  the  arteries;  for 
when  they  are  effectually  compressed  nothing  is  drawn  to 
the  member;  the  hand  preserves  its  colour;  nothing  flows 
into  it,  neither  is  it  distended;  but  when  the  pressure  is 
diminished,  as  it  is  with  the  bleeding  fillet,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  blood  is  instantly  thrown  in  with  force,  for  then 
the  hand  begins  to  swell;  which  is  as  much  as  to  say,  that 
when  the  arteries  pulsate  the  blood  is  flowing  through  them, 
as  it  is  when  the  moderately  tight  ligature  is  applied;  but 
where  they  do  not  pulsate,  as,  when  a tight  ligature  is 
used,  they  cease  from  transmitting  anything,  they  are  only 
distended  above  the  part  where  the  ligature  is  applied. 
The  veins  again  being  compressed,  nothing  can  flow  through 
them ; the  certain  indication  of  which  is,  that  below  the 
ligature  they  are  much  more  tumid  than  above  it,  and  than 
they  usually  appear  when  there  is  no  bandage  upon  the  arm. 

It  therefore  plainly  appears  that  the  ligature  prevents  the 
return  of  the  blood  through  the  veins  to  the  parts  above  it, 
and  maintains  those  beneath  it  in  a state  of  permanent  dis- 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


119 


tension.  But  the  arteries,  in  spite  of  its  pressure,  and  un- 
der the  force  and  impulse  of  the  heart,  send  on  the  blood 
from  the  internal  parts  of  the  body  to  the  parts  beyond  the 
ligature.  And  herein  consists  the  difference  between  the 
tight  and  the  medium  ligature,  that  the  former  not  only 
prevents  the  passage  of  the  blood  in  the  veins,  but  in  the 
arteries  also;  the  latter,  however,  whilst  it  does  not  prevent 
the  force  of  the  pulse  from  extending  beyond  it,  and  so 
propelling  the  blood  to  the  extremities  of  the  body,  com- 
presses the  veins,  and  greatly  or  altogether  impedes  the 
return  of  the  blood  through  them. 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  moderately  tight  ligature  ren- 
ders the  veins  turgid  and  distended,  and  the  whole  hand  full 
of  blood,  I ask,  whence  is  this?  Does  the  blood  accumulate 
below  the  ligature  coming  through  the  veins,  or  through  the 
arteries,  or  passing  by  certain  hidden  porosities?  Through 
the  veins  it  cannot  come;  still  less  can  it  come  through  in- 
visible channels;  it  must  needs,  then,  arrive  by  the  arteries, 
in  conformity  with  all  that  has  been  already  said.  That  it 
cannot  flow  in  by  the  veins  appears  plainly  enough  from  the 
fact  that  the  blood  cannot  be  forced  towards  the  heart  un- 
less the  ligature  be  removed;  when  this  is  done  suddenly  all 
the  veins  collapse,  and  disgorge  themselves  of  their  contents 
into  the  superior  parts,  the  hand  at  the  same  time  resumes 
its  natural  pale  colour,  the  tumefaction  and  the  stagnating 
blood  having  disappeared. 

Moreover,  he  whose  arm  or  wrist  has  thus  been  bound  for 
some  little  time  with  the  medium  bandage,  so  that  it  has  not 
only  got  swollen  and  livid  but  cold,  when  the  fillet  is  un- 
done is  aware  of  something  cold  making  its  way  upwards 
along  with  the  returning  blood,  and  reaching  the  elbow  or 
the  axilla.  And  I have  myself  been  inclined  to  think  that 
this  cold  blood  rising  upwards  to  the  heart  was  the  cause  of 
the  fainting  that  often  occurs  after  blood-letting:  fainting 
frequently  supervenes  even  in  robust  subjects,  and  mostly  at 
the  moment  of  undoing  the  fillet,  as  the  vulgar  say,  from 
the  turning  of  the  blood. 

Farther,  when  we  see  the  veins  below  the  ligature  in- 
stantly swell  up  and  become  gorged,  when  from  extreme 
tightness  it  is  somewhat  relaxed,  the  arteries  meantime  con- 


120 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


tinuing  unaffected,  this  is  an  obvious  indication  that  the 
blood  passes  from  the  arteries  into  the  veins,  and  not  from 
the  veins  into  the  arteries,  and  that  there  is  either  an  an- 
astomosis of  the  two  orders  of  vessels,  or  porosities  in  the 
flesh  and  solid  parts  generally  that  are  permeable  to  the 
blood.  It  is  farther  an  indication  that  the  veins  have  fre- 
quent  communications  with  one  another,  because  they  all 
become  turgid  together,  whilst  under  the  medium  ligature 
applied  above  the  elbow ; and  if  any  single  small  vein  be 
pricked  with  a lancet,  they  all  speedily  shrink,  and  disbur- 
dening themselves  into  this  they  subside  almost  simulta- 
neously. 

These  considerations  will  enable  anyone  to  understand 
the  nature  of  the  attraction  that  is  exerted  by  ligatures,  and 
perchance  of  fluxes  generally;  how,  for  example,  when  the 
veins  are  compressed  by  a bandage  of  medium  tightness 
applied  above  the  elbow,  the  blood  cannot  escape,  whilst  it 
still  continues  to  be  driven  in,  by  the  forcing  power  of  the 
heart,  by  which  the  parts  are  of  necessity  filled,  gorged  with 
blood.  And  how  should  it  be  otherwise?  Heat  and  pain 
and  a vacuum  draw,  indeed ; but  in  such  wise  only  that 
parts  are  filled,  not  preternaturally  distended  or  gorged,  and 
not  so  suddenly  and  violently  overwhelmed  with  the  charge 
of  blood  forced  in  upon  them,  that  the  flesh  is  lacerated 
and  the  vessels  ruptured.  Nothing  of  the  kind  as  an  effect 
of  heat,  or  pain,  or  the  vacuum  force,  is  either  credible  or 
demonstrable. 

Besides,  the  ligature  is  competent  to  occasion  the  afflux  in 
question  without  either  pain,  or  heat,  or  a vacuum.  Were 
pain  in  any  way  the  cause,  how  should  it  happen  that,  with 
the  arm  bound  above  the  elbow,  the  hand  and  fingers  should 
swell  below  the  bandage,  and  their  veins  become  distended? 
The  pressure  of  the  bandage  certainly  prevents  the  blood 
from  getting  there  by  the  veins.  And  then,  wherefore  is 
there  neither  swelling  nor  repletion  of  the  veins,  nor  any 
sign  or  symptom  of  attraction  or  afflux,  above  the  ligature? 
But  this  is  the  obvious  cause  of  the  preternatural  attraction 
and  swelling  below  the  bandage,  and  in  the  hand  and  fingers, 
that  the  blood  is  entering  abundantly,  and  with  force,  but 
cannot  pass  out  again. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


121 


Now  is  not  this  the  cause  of  all  tumefaction,  as  indeed 
Avicenna  has  it,  and  of  all  oppressive  redundancy  in  parts, 
that  the  access  to  them  is  open,  but  the  egress  from  them  is 
closed?  Whence  it  comes  that  they  are  gorged  and  tume- 
fied. And  may  not  the  same  thing  happen  in  local  inflamma- 
tions, where,  so  long  as  the  swelling  is  on  the  increase,  and 
has  not  reached  its  extreme  term,  a full  pulse  is  felt  in  the 
part,  especially  when  the  disease  is  of  the  more  acute  kind, 
and  tne  swelling  usually  takes  place  most  rapidly.  But  these 
are  matters  for  after  discussion.  Or  does  this,  which  occurred 
in  my  own  case,  happen  from  the  same  cause?  Thrown 
from  a carriage  upon  one  occasion,  I struck  my  forehead 
a blow  upon  the  place  where  a twig  of  the  artery  advances 
from  the  temple,  and  immediately,  within  the  time  in  which 
twenty  beats  could  have  been  made  I felt  a tumour  the  size 
of  an  egg  developed,  without  either  heat  or  any  great  pain : 
the  near  vicinity  of  the  artery  had  caused  the  blood  to  be 
effused  into  the  bruised  part  with  unusual  force  and  velocity. 

And  now,  too,  we  understand  why  in  phlebotomy  we  apply 
our  ligature  above  the  part  that  is  punctured,  not  below  it; 
did  the  flow  come  from  above,  not  from  below,  the  constric- 
tion in  this  case  would  not  only  be  of  no  service,  but  would 
prove  a positive  hindrance;  it  would  have  to  be  applied 
below  the  orifice,  in  order  to  have  the  flow  more  free,  did  the 
blood  descend  by  the  veins  from  superior  to  inferior  parts ; 
but  as  it  is  elsewhere  forced  through  the  extreme  arteries 
into  the  extreme  veins,  and  the  return  in  these  last  is 
opposed  by  the  ligature,  so  do  they  fill  and  swell,  and  being 
thus  filled  and  distended,  they  are  made  capable  of  projecting 
their  charge  with  force,  and  to  a distance,  when  any  one  of 
them  is  suddenly  punctured ; but  the  ligature  being  slackened, 
and  the  returning  channels  thus  left  open,  the  blood  forth- 
with no  longer  escapes,  save  by  drops ; and,  as  all  the  world 
knows,  if  in  performing  phlebotomy  the  bandage  be  either 
slackened  too  much  or  the  limb  be  bound  too  tightly,  the 
blood  escapes  without  force,  because  in  the  one  case  the 
returning  channels  are  not  adequately  obstructed;  in  the 
other  the  channels  of  influx,  the  arteries,  are  impeded. 


122 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


CHAPTER  XII 

That  there  is  a Circulation  of  the  Blood  is  Shown 
from  the  Second  Position  Demonstrated 

If  these  things  be  so,  another  point  which  I have  already 
referred  to,  viz.,  the  continual  passage  of  the  blood  through 
the  heart  will  also  be  confirmed.  We  have  seen,  that  the 
blood  passes  from  the  arteries  into  the  veins,  not  from  the 
veins  into  the  arteries;  we  have  seen,  farther,  that  almost 
the  whole  of  the  blood  may  be  withdrawn  from  a puncture 
made  in  one  of  the  cutaneous  veins  of  the  arm  if  a bandage 
properly  applied  be  used;  we  have  seen,  still  farther,  that 
the  blood  flows  so  freely  and  rapidly  that  not  only  is  the 
whole  quantity  which  was  contained  in  the  arm  beyond  the 
ligature,  and  before  the  puncture  was  made,  discharged,  but 
the  whole  which  is  contained  in  the  body,  both  that  of  the 
arteries  and  that  of  the  veins. 

Whence  we  must  admit,  first,  that  the  blood  is  sent  along 
with  an  impulse,  and  that  it  is  urged  with  force  below  the 
ligature ; for  it  escapes  with  force,  which  force  it  receives 
from  the  pulse  and  power  of  the  heart;  for  the  force  and 
motion  of  the  blood  are  derived  from  the  heart  alone.  Sec- 
ond, that  the  afflux  proceeds  from  the  heart,  and  through 
the  heart  by  a course  from  the  great  veins ; for  it  gets  into 
the  parts  below  the  ligature  through  the  arteries,  not 
through  the  veins ; and  the  arteries  nowhere  receive  blood 
from  the  veins,  nowhere  receive  blood  save  and  except  from 
i the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart.  Nor  could  so  large  a quantity 
of  blood  be  drawn  from  one  vein  (a  ligature  having  been 
duly  applied),  nor  with  such  impetuousity,  such  readiness, 
such  celerity,  unless  through  the  medium  of  the  impelling 
power  of  the  heart. 

But  if  all  things  be  as  they  are  now  represented,  we  shall 
feel  ourselves  at  liberty  to  calculate  the  quantity  of  the 
blood,  and  to  reason  on  its  circular  motion.  Should  anyone, 
for  instance,  performing  phlebotomy,  suffer  the  blood  to 
flow  in  the  manner  it  usually  does,  with  force  and  freely, 
for  some  half  hour  or  so,  no  question  but  that  the  great- 
est part  of  the  blood  being  abstracted,  faintings  and 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


123 


syncopes  would  ensue,  and  that  not  only  would  the  arteries 
but  the  great  veins  also  be  nearly  emptied  of  their  contents. 
It  is  only  consonant  with  reason  to  conclude  that  in  the 
course  of  the  half  hour  hinted  at,  so  much  as  has  escaped 
has  also  passed  from  the  great  veins  through  the  heart  into 
the  aorta.  And  further,  if  we  calculate  how  many  ounces 
flow  through  one  arm,  or  how  many  pass  in  twenty  or  thirty 
pulsations  under  the  medium  ligature,  we  shall  have  some 
grounds  for  estimating  how  much  passes  through  the  other 
arm  in  the  same  space  of  time:  how  much  through  both 
lower  extremities,  how  much  through  the  neck  on  either  side, 
and  through  all  the  other  arteries  and  veins  of  the  body,  all 
of  which  have  been  supplied  with  fresh  blood,  and  as  this 
blood  must  have  passed  through  the  lungs  and  ventricles 
of  the  heart,  and  must  have  come  from  the  great  veins, — 
we  shall  perceive  that  a circulation  is  absolutely  necessary, 
seeing  that  the  quantities  hinted  at  cannot  be  supplied  im- 
mediately from  the  ingesta,  and  are  vastly  more  than  can 
be  requisite  for  the  mere  nutrition  of  the  parts. 

It  is  still  further  to  be  observed,  that  in  practising  phlebot- 
omy the  truths  contended  for  are  sometimes  confirmed  in 
another  way;  for  having  tied  up  the  arm  properly,  and 
made  the  puncture  duly,  still,  if  from  alarm  or  any  other 
causes,  a state  of  faintness  supervenes,  in  which  the  heart 
always  pulsates  more  languidly,  the  blood  does  not  flow 
freely,  but  distils  by  drops  only.  The  reason  is,  that  with 
a somewhat  greater  than  usual  resistance  offered  to  the 
transit  of  the  blood  by  the  bandage,  coupled  with  the 
weaker  action  of  the  heart,  and  its  diminished  impelling 
power,  the  stream  cannot  make  its  way  under  the  ligature ; 
and  farther,  owing  to  the  weak  and  languishing  state  of  the 
heart,  the  blood  is  not  transferred  in  such  quantity  as  wont 
from  the  veins  to  the  arteries  through  the  sinuses  of  that 
organ.  So  also,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  are  the  men- 
strual fluxes  of  women,  and  indeed  hemorrhages  of  every 
kind,  controlled.  And  now,  a contrary  state  of  things 
occurring,  the  patient  getting  rid  of  his  fear  and  recovering 
his  courage,  the  pulse  strength  is  increased,  the  arteries  be- 
gin again  to  beat  with  greater  force,  and  to  drive  the  blood 
even  into  the  part  that  is  bound;  so  that  the  blood  now 


124 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


springs  from  the  puncture  in  the  vein,  and  flows  in  a con* 
tinuous  stream. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Third  Position  is  Confirmed:  and  the  Circulation 
of  the  Blood  is  Demonstrated  from  It 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  the  quantity  of  blood  passing 
through  the  heart  and  the  lungs  in  the  centre  of  the  body, 
and  in  like  manner  from  the  arteries  into  the  veins  in  the 
peripheral  parts  and  the  body  at  large.  We  have  yet  to 
explain,  however,  in  what  manner  the  blood  finds  its  way 
back  to  the  heart  from  the  extremities  by  the  veins,  and  how 
and  in  what  way  these  are  the  only  vessels  that  convey  the 
blood  from  the  external  to  the  central  parts;  which  done,  I 
conceive  that  the  three  fundamental  propositions  laid  down 
for  the  circulation  of  the  blood  will  be  so  plain,  so  well 
established,  so  obviously  true,  that  they  may  claim  general 
credence.  Now  the  remaining  position  will  be  made  suf- 
ficiently clear  from  the  valves  which  are  found  in  the  cavities 
of  the  veins  themselves,  from  the  uses  of  these,  and  from 
experiments  cognizable  by  the  senses. 

The  celebrated  Hieronymus  Fabricius  of  Aquapendente, 
a most  skilful  anatomist,  and  venerable  old  man,  or,  as  the 
learned  Riolan  will  have  it,  Jacobus  Silvius,  first  gave  rep- 
resentations of  the  valves  in  the  veins,  which  consist  of 
raised  or  loose  portions  of  the  inner  membranes  of  these 
vessels,  of  extreme  delicacy,  and  a sigmoid  or  semilunar 
shape.  They  are  situated  at  different  distances  from  one 
another,  and  diversely  in  different  individuals ; they  are 
connate  at  the  sides  of  the  veins ; they  are  directed  up- 
wards towards  the  trunks  of  the  veins;  the  two — for  there 
are  for  the  most  part  two  together — regard  each  other, 
mutually  touch,  and  are  so  ready  to  come  into  contact  by 
their  edges,  that  if  anything  attempts  to  pass  from  the 
trunks  into  the  branches  of  the  veins,  or  from  the  greater 
vessels  into  the  less,  they  completely  prevent  it;  they  are 
farther  so  arranged,  that  the  horns  of  those  that  succeed  are 
opposite  the  middle  of  the  convexity  of  those  that  precede, 
and  so  on  alternately. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


125 


The  discoverer  of  these  valves  did  not  rightly  under- 
stand their  use,  nor  have  succeeding  anatomists  added  any- 
thing to  our  knowledge : for  their  office  is  by  no  means  ex- 
plained when  we  are  told  that  it  is  to  hinder  the  blood,  by 
its  weight,  from  all  flowing  into  inferior  parts ; for  the  edges 
of  the  valves  in  the  jugular  veins  hang  downwards,  and  are 
so  contrived  that  they  prevent  the  blood  from  rising  up- 
wards; the  valves,  in  a word,  do  not  invariably  look  up- 
wards, but  always  toward  the  trunks  of  the  veins,  invariably 
towards  the  seat  of  the  heart.  I,  and  indeed  others,  have 
sometimes  found  valves  in  the  emulgent  veins,  and  in  those 
of  the  mesentery,  the  edges  of  which  were  directed  towards 
the  vena  cava  and  vena  portae.  Let  it  be  added  that  there 
are  no  valves  in  the  arteries,  and  that  dogs,  oxen,  etc.,  have 
invariably  valves  at  the  divisions  of  their  crural  veins,  in 
the  veins  that  meet  towards  the  top  of  the  os  sacrum,  and 
in  those  branches  which  come  from  the  haunches,  in  which 
no  such  effect  of  gravity  from  the  erect  position  was  to  be 
apprehended.  Neither  are  there  valves  in  the  jugular  veins 
for  the  purpose  of  guarding  against  apoplexy,  as  some  have 
said;  because  in  sleep  the  head  is  more  apt  to  be  influenced 
by  the  contents  of  the  carotid  arteries.  Neither  are  the 
valves  present,  in  order  that  the  blood  may  be  retained  in 
the  divarications  or  smaller  trunks  and  minuter  branches, 
and  not  be  suffered  to  flow  entirely  into  the  more  open  and 
capacious  channels ; for  they  occur  where  there  are  no  divari- 
cations; although  it  must  be  owned  that  they  are  most  fre- 
quent at  the  points  where  branches  join.  Neither  do  they 
exist  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the  current  of  blood  more 
slow  from  the  centre  of  the  body;  for  it  seems  likely  that 
the  blood  would  be  disposed  to  flow  with  sufficient  slowness 
of  its  own  accord,  as  it  would  have  to  pass  from  larger 
into  continually  smaller  vessels,  being  separated  from  the 
mass  and  fountain  head,  and  attaining  from  warmer  into 
colder  places. 

But  the  valves  are  solely  made  and  instituted  lest  the 
blood  should  pass  from  the  greater  into  the  lesser  veins,  and 
either  rupture  them  or  cause  them  to  become  varicose ; lest, 
instead  of  advancing  from  the  extreme  to  the  central  parts 
of  the  body,  the  blood  should  rather  proceed  along  the  veins 


126 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


from  the  centre  to  the  extremities;  but  the  delicate  valves-, 
while  they  readily  open  in  the  right  direction,  entirely  pre- 
vent all  such  contrary  motion,  being  so  situated  and  ar- 
ranged, that  if  anything  escapes,  or  is  less  perfectly  ob- 
structed by  the  cornua  of  the  one  above,  the  fluid  passing, 
as  it  were,  by  the  chinks  between  the  cornua,  it  is  im- 
mediately received  on  the  convexity  of  the  one  beneath, 
which  is  placed  transversely  with  reference  to  the  former, 
and  so  is  effectually  hindered  from  getting  any  farther. 

And  this  I have  frequently  experienced  in  my  dissections 
of  the  veins:  if  I attempted  to  pass  a probe  from  the  trunk 
of  the  veins  into  one  of  the  smaller  branches,  whatever 
care  I took  I found  it  impossible  to  introduce  it  far  any 
way,  by  reason  of  the  valves;  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  it 
was  most  easy  to  push  it  along  in  the  opposite  direction,  from 
without  inwards,  or  from  the  branches  towards  the  trunks 
and  roots.  In  many  places  two  valves  are  so  placed  and 
fitted,  that  when  raised  they  come  exactly  together  in  the 
middle  of  the  vein,  and  are  there  united  by  the  contact  of 
their  margins ; and  so  accurate  is  the  adaptation,  that  neither 
by  the  eye  nor  by  any  other  means  of  examination,  can  the 
slightest  chink  along  the  line  of  contact  be  perceived.  But 
if  the  probe  be  now  introduced  from  the  extreme  towards 
the  more  central  parts,  the  valves,  like  the  floodgates  of 
a river,  give  way,  and  are  most  readily  pushed  aside.  The 
effect  of  this  arrangement  plainly  is  to  prevent  all  motion  of 
the  blood  from  the  heart  and  vena  cava,  whether  it  be  up- 
wards towards  the  head,  or  downwards  towards  the  feet, 
or  to  either  side  towards  the  arms,  not  a drop  can  pass;  all 
motion  of  the  blood,  beginning  in  the  larger  and  tending 
towards  the  smaller  veins,  is  opposed  and  resisted  by  them; 
whilst  the  motion  that  proceeds  from  the  lesser  to  end  in  the 
larger  branches  is  favoured,  or,  at  all  events,  a free  and 
open  passage  is  left  for  it. 

But  that  this  truth  may  be  made  the  more  apparent, 
let  an  arm  be  tied  up  above  the  elbow  as  if  for  phlebotomy 
(A,  A,  fig.  i).  At  intervals  in  the  course  of  the  veins, 
especially  in  labouring  people  and  those  whose  veins  are 
large,  certain  knots  or  elevations  (B,  C,  D,  E,  F)  will  be 
perceived,  and  this  not  only  at  the  places  where  a branch 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


127 


is  received  (E.  F),  but  also  where  none  enters  (C,  D)  : 
these  knots  or  risings  are  all  formed  by  valves,  which  thus 
show  themselves  externally.  And  now  if  you  press  the  blood 
from  the  space  above  one  of  the  valves,  from  H to  O,  (fig. 
2,)  and  keep  the  point  of  a finger  upon  the  vein  interiorly, 
you  will  see  no  influx  of  blood  from  above;  the  portion  of 
the  vein  between  the  point  of  the  finger  and  the  valve  O 
will  be  obliterated ; yet  will  the  vessel  continue  sufficiently 
distended  above  the  valve  (O,  G).  The  blood  being  thus 
pressed  out  and  the  vein  emptied,  if  you  now  apply  a finger 
of  the  other  hand  upon  the  distended  part  of  the  vein  above 
the  valve  O,  (fig.  3,)  and  press  downwards,  you  will  find 
that  you  cannot  force  the  blood  through  or  beyond  the  valve ; 
but  the  greater  effort  you  use,  you  will  only  see  the  por- 
tion of  vein  that  is  between  the  finger  and  the  valve  become 
more  distended,  that  portion  of  the  vein  which  is  below  the 
valve  remaining  all  the  while  empty  (H,  O,  fig.  3). 

It  would  therefore  appear  that  the  function  of  the  valves 
in  the  veins  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  three  sigmoid  valves 
which  we  find  at  the  commencement  of  the  aorta  and  pul- 
monary artery,  viz.,  to  prevent  all  reflux  of  the  blood  that 
is  passing  over  them. 

[Note. — Woodcuts  of  the  veins  of  the  arm  to  which  these 
letters  and  figures  refer  appear  here  in  the  original. — 
C.  N.  B.  C] 

Farther,  the  arm  being  bound  as  before,  and  the  veins  look- 
ing full  and  distended,  if  you  press  at  one  part  in  the  course 
of  a vein  with  the  point  of  a finger  (L,  fig.  4),  and  then  with 
another  finger  streak  the  blood  upwards  beyond  the  next 
valve  (N),  you  will  perceive  that  this  portion  of  the  vein 
continues  empty  (L.  N),  and  that  the  blood  cannot  retro- 
grade, precisely  as  we  have  already  seen  the  case  to  be 
in  fig.  2;  but  the  finger  first  applied  (H,  fig.  2,  L,  fig.  4), 
being  removed,  immediately  the  vein  is  filled  from  below,  and 
the  arm  becomes  as  it  appears  at  D C,  fig.  1.  That  the 
blood  in  the  veins  therefore  proceeds  from  inferior  or  more 
remote  parts,  and  towards  the  heart,  moving  in  these  ves- 
sels in  this  and  not  in  the  contrary  direction,  appears  most 
obviously.  And  although  in  some  places  the  valves,  by  not 
acting  with  such  perfect  accuracy,  or  where  there  is  but  a 


128 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


single  valve,  do  not  seem  totally  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  blood  from  the  centre,  still  the  greater  number  of  them 
plainly  do  so ; and  then,  where  things  appear  contrived  more 
negligently,  this  is  compensated  either  by  the  more  frequent 
occurrence  or  more  perfect  action  of  the  succeeding  valves, 
or  in  some  other  way:  the  veins  in  short,  as  they  are  the 
free  and  open  conduits  of  the  blood  returning  to  the  heart, 
so  are  they  effectually  prevented  from  serving  as  its  chan- 
nels of  distribution  from  the  heart. 

But  this  other  circumstance  has  to  be  noted:  The  arm 
being  bound,  and  the  veins  made  turgid,  and  the  valves 
prominent,  as  before,  apply  the  thumb  or  finger  over  a vein 
in  the  situation  of  one  of  the  valves  in  such  a way  as  to 
compress  it,  and  prevent  any  blood  from  passing  upwards 
from  the  hand;  then,  with  a finger  of  the  other  hand,  streak 
the  blood  in  the  vein  upwards  till  it  has  passed  the  next 
valve  above  (N,  fig.  4),  the  vessel  now  remains  empty;  but 
the  finger  at  L being  removed  for  an  instant,  the  vein  is  im- 
mediately filled  from  below ; apply  the  finger  again,  and  hav- 
ing in  the  same  manner  streaked  the  blood  upwards,  again 
remove  the  finger  below,  and  again  the  vessel  becomes  dis- 
tended as  before ; and  this  repeat,  say  a thousand  times,  in 
a short  space  of  time.  And  now  compute  the  quantity  of 
blood  which  you  have  thus  pressed  up  beyond  the  valve,  and 
then  multiplying  the  assumed  quantity  by  one  thousand,  you 
will  find  that  so  much  blood  has  passed  through  a certain 
portion  of  the  vessel;  and  I do  now  believe  that  you  will 
find  yourself  convinced  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and 
of  its  rapid  motion.  But  if  in  this  experiment  you  say  that 
a violence  is  done  to  nature,  I do  not  doubt  but  that,  if  you 
proceed  in  the  same  way,  only  taking  as  great  a length  of 
vein  as  possible,  and  merely  remark  with  what  rapidity  the 
blood  flows  upwards,  and  fills  the  vessel  from  below,  you 
will  come  to  the  same  conclusion. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


129 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Conclusion  of  the  Demonstration  of  the  Circulation 

And  now  I may  be  allowed  to  give  in  brief  my  view  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  to  propose  it  for  general 
adoption. 

Since  all  things,  both  argument  and  ocular  demonstration, 
show  that  the  blood  passes  through  the  lungs,  and  heart  by 
the  force  of  the  ventricles,  and  is  sent  for  distribution  to  all 
parts  of  the  body,  where  it  makes  its  way  into  the  veins 
and  porosities  of  the  flesh,  and  then  flows  by  the  veins  from 
the  circumference  on  every  side  to  the  centre,  from  the 
lesser  to  the  greater  veins,  and  is  by  them  finally  discharged 
into  the  vena  cava  and  right  auricle  of  the  heart,  and  this  in 
such  a quantity  or  in  such  a flux  and  reflux  thither  by  the 
arteries,  hither  by  the  veins,  as  cannot  possibly  be  supplied 
by  the  ingesta,  and  is  much  greater  than  can  be  required 
for  mere  purposes  of  nutrition;  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
conclude  that  the  blood  in  the  animal  body  is  impelled  in  a 
circle,  and  is  in  a state  of  ceaseless  motion;  that  this  is  the 
act  or  function  which  the  heart  performs  by  means  of  its 
pulse ; and  that  it  is  the  sole  and  only  end  of  the  motion  and 
contraction  of  the  heart. 

CHAPTER  XV 

The  Circulation  of  the  Blood  is  Further  Confirmed  by 
Probable  Reasons 

It  will  not  be  foreign  to  the  subject  if  I here  show 
further,  from  certain  familiar  reasonings,  that  the  circula- 
tion is  matter  both  of  convenience  and  necessity.  In  the 
first  place,  since  death  is  a corruption  which  takes  place 
through  deficiency  of  heat,1  and  since  all  living  things  are 
warm,  all  dying  things  cold,  there  must  be  a particular  seat 
and  fountain,  a kind  of  home  and  hearth,  where  the  cher- 
isher  of  nature,  the  original  of  the  native  fire,  is  stored  and 
preserved;  from  which  heat  and  life  are  dispensed  to  all 

1 Aristoteles  De  Respiratione,  lib.  ii  et  iii:  De  Part.  Animal,  et  alibi. 

(5)  HC  XXXVIII 


130 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


parts  as  from  a fountain  head ; from  which  sustenance  may 
be  derived ; and  upon  which  concoction  and  nutrition,  and 
all  vegetative  energy  may  depend.  Now,  that  the  heart  is 
this  place,  that  the  heart  is  the  principle  of  life,  and  that  all 
passes  in  the  manner  just  mentioned,  I trust  no  one  will 
deny. 

The  blood,  therefore,  required  to  have  motion,  and  indeed 
such  a motion  that  it  should  return  again  to  the  heart;  for 
sent  to  the  external  parts  of  the  body  far  from  its  fountain, 
as  Aristotle  says,  and  without  motion,  it  would  become  con- 
gealed. For  we  see  motion  generating  and  keeping  up  heat 
and  spirits  under  all  circumstances,  and  rest  allowing  them 
to  escape  and  be  dissipated.  The  blood,  therefore,  becoming 
thick  or  congealed  by  the  cold  of  the  extreme  and  outward 
parts,  and  robbed  of  its  spirits,  just  as  it  is  in  the  dead,  it 
was  imperative  that  from  its  fount  and  origin,  it  should 
again  receive  heat  and  spirits,  and  all  else  requisite  to  its 
preservation — that,  by  returning,  it  should  be  renovated  and 
restored. 

We  frequently  see  how  the  extremities  are  chilled  by  the 
external  cold,  how  the  nose  and  cheeks  and  hands  look  blue, 
and  how  the  blood,  stagnating  in  them  as  in  the  pendent  or 
lower  parts  of  a corpse,  becomes  of  a dusky  hue ; the  limbs 
at  the  same  time  getting  torpid,  so  that  they  can  scarcely  be 
moved,  and  seem  almost  to  have  lost  their  vitality.  Now 
they  can  by  no  means  be  so  effectually,  and  especially  so 
speedily  restored  to  heat  and  colour  and  life,  as  by  a new 
efflux  and  contact  of  heat  from  its  source.  But  how  can 
parts  attract  in  which  the  heat  and  life  are  almost  ex- 
tinct? Or  how  should  they  whose  passages  are  filled  with 
condensed  and  frigid  blood,  admit  fresh  aliment — renovated 
blood — unless  they  had  first  got  rid  of  their  old  contents? 
Unless  the  heart  were  truly  that  fountain  where  life  and 
heat  are  restored  to  the  refrigerated  fluid,  and  whence 
new  blood,  warm,  imbued  with  spirits,  being  sent  out  by 
the  arteries,  that  which  has  become  cooled  and  effete  is 
forced  on,  and  all  the  particles  recover  their  heat  which 
was  failing,  and  their  vital  stimulus  wellnigh  exhausted. 

Hence  it  is  that  if  the  heart  be  unaffected,  life  and  health 
may  be  restored  to  almost  all  the  other  parts  of  the  body; 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


131 


but  if  the  heart  be  chilled,  or  smitten  with  any  serious 
disease,  it  seems  matter  of  necessity  that  the  whole  ani- 
mal fabric  should  suffer  and  fall  into  decay.  When  the 
source  is  corrupted,  there  is  nothing,  as  Aristotle  says,2 
which  can  be  of  service  either  to  it  or  aught  that  depends 
on  it.  And  hence,  by  the  way,  it  may  perchance  be  why 
grief,  and  love,  and  envy,  and  anxiety,  and  all  affections 
of  the  mind  of  a similar  kind  are  accompanied  with  emaci- 
ation and  decay,  or  with  disordered  fluids  and  crudity, 
which  engender  all  manner  of  diseases  and  consume  the 
body  of  man.  For  every  affection  of  the  mind  that  is 
attended  with  either  pain  or  pleasure,  hope  or  fear,  Is 
the  cause  of  an  agitation  whose  influence  extends  to  the 
heart,  and  there  induces  change  from  the  natural  con- 
stitution, in  the  temperature,  the  pulse  and  the  rest,  which 
impairing  all  nutrition  in  its  source  and  abating  the  powers 
at  large,  it  is  no  wonder  that  various  forms  of  incurable 
disease  in  the  extremities  and  in  the  trunk  are  the  con- 
sequence, inasmuch  as  in  such  circumstances  the  whole 
body  labours  under  the  effects  of  vitiated  nutrition  and 
a want  of  native  heat. 

Moreover,  when  we  see  that  all  animals  live  through 
food  digested  in  their  interior,  it  is  imperative  that  the 
digestion  and  distribution  be  perfect,  and,  as  a consequence, 
that  there  be  a place  and  receptacle  where  the  aliment  is 
perfected  and  whence  it  is  distributed  to  the  several  mem- 
bers. Now  this  place  is  the  heart,  for  it  is  the  only  organ  4 
in  the  body  which  contains  blood  for  the  general  use ; all 
the  others  receive  it  merely  for  their  peculiar  or  private 
advantage,  just  as  the  heart  also  has  a supply  for  its  own 
especial  behoof  in  its  coronary  veins  and  arteries.  But 
it  is  of  the  store  which  the  heart  contains  in  its  auri- 
cles and  ventricles  that  I here  speak.  Then  the  heart 
is  the  only  organ  which  is  so  situated  and  constituted  that 
it  can  distribute  the  blood  in  due  proportion  to  the  several 
parts  of  the  body,  the  quantity  sent  to  each  being  according 
to  the  dimensions  of  the  artery  which  supplies  it,  the  heart 
serving  as  a magazine  or  fountain  ready  to  meet  its  de- 
mands. 


2 De  Part.  Animal.,  iii. 


132 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


Further,  a certain  impulse  or  force,  as  well  as  an  im- 
peller or  forcer,  such  as  the  heart,  was  required  to  effect 
this  distribution  and  motion  of  the  blood;  both  because 
the  blood  is  disposed  from  slight  causes,  such  as  cold, 
alarm,  horror,  and  the  like,  to  collect  in  its  source,  to 
concentrate  like  parts  to  a whole,  or  the  drops  of  water 
spilt  upon  a table  to  the  mass  of  liquid;  and  because 
it  is  forced  from  the  capillary  veins  into  the  smaller  rami- 
fications, and  from  these  into  the  larger  trunks  by  the 
motion  of  the  extremities  and  the  compression  of  the  mus- 
cles generally.  The  blood  is  thus  more  disposed  to  move 
from  the  circumference  to  the  centre  than  in  the  opposite 
direction,  even  were  there  no  valves  to  oppose  its  motion; 
wherefore,  that  it  may  leave  its  source  and  enter  more 
confined  and  colder  channels,  and  flow  against  the  direc- 
tion to  which  it  spontaneously  inclines,  the  blood  requires 
both  force  and  impelling  power.  Now  such  is  the  heart 
and  the  heart  alone,  and  that  in  the  way  and  manner 
already  explained. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Circulation  of  the  Blood  is  Further  Proved  from 
Certain  Consequences 

There  are  still  certain  problems,  which,  taken  as  con- 
sequences of  this  truth  assumed  as  proven,  are  not  with- 
out their  use  in  exciting  belief,  as  it  were,  a posteriore; 
and  which,  although  they  may  seem  to  be  involved  in 
much  doubt  and  obscurity,  nevertheless  readily  admit  of 
having  reasons  and  causes  assigned  for  them.  Of  such 
a nature  are  those  that  present  themselves  in  connexion 
with  contagions,  poisoned  wounds,  the  bites  of  serpents  and 
rabid  animals,  lues  venerea  and  the  like.  We  sometimes 
see  the  whole  system  contaminated,  though  the  part  first 
infected  remains  sound ; the  lues  venerea  has  occasionally 
made  its  attack  with  pains  in  the  shoulders  and  head,  and 
other  symptoms,  the  genital  organs  being  all  the  while  un- 
affected; and  then  we  know  that  the  wound  made  by  a 
rabid  dog  having  healed,  fever  and  a train  of  disastrous 
symptoms  may  nevertheless  supervene.  Whence  it  ap- 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


133 


pears  that  the  contagion  impressed  upon  or  deposited  in 
a particular  part,  is  by-and-by  carried  by  the  returning 
current  of  blood  to  the  heart,  and  by  that  organ  is  sent 
to  contaminate  the  whole  body. 

In  tertian  fever,  the  morbific  cause  seeking  the  heart 
in  the  first  instance,  and  hanging  about  the  heart  and  lungs, 
renders  the  patient  short-winded,  disposed  to  sighing,  and 
indisposed  to  exertion,  because  the  vital  principle  is  op- 
pressed and  the  blood  forced  into  the  lungs  and  rendered 
thick.  It  does  not  pass  through  them,  (as  I have  myself 
seen  in  opening  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  died  in  the 
beginning  of  the  attack,)  when  the  pulse  is  always  fre- 
quent, small,  and  occasionally  irregular;  but  the  heat  in- 
creasing, the  matter  becoming  attenuated,  the  passages 
forced,  and  the  transit  made,  the  whole  body  begins  to 
rise  in  temperature,  and  the  pulse  becomes  fuller  and 
stronger.  The  febrile  paroxysm  is  fully  formed,  whilst 
the  preternatural  heat  kindled  in  the  heart  is  thence  dif- 
fused by  the  arteries  through  the  whole  body  along  with 
the  morbific  matter,  which  is  in  this  way  overcome  and 
dissolved  by  nature. 

When  we  perceive,  further,  that  medicines  applied  ex- 
ternally exert  their  influence  on  the  body  just  as  if  they 
had  been  taken  internally,  the  truth  we  are  contending 
for  is  confirmed.  Colocynth  and  aloes  in  this  way  move 
the  belly,  cantharides  excites  the  urine,  garlic  applied  to 
the  soles  of  the  feet  assists  expectoration,  cordials  strengthen, 
and  an  infinite  number  of  examples  of  the  same  kind  might 
be  cited.  Perhaps  it  will  not,  therefore,  be  found  unrea- 
sonable, if  we  say  that  the  veins,  by  means  of  their  ori- 
fices, absorb  some  of  the  things  that  are  applied  externally 
and  carry  this  inwards  with  the  blood,  not  otherwise,  it  may 
be,  than  those  of  the  mesentery  imbibe  the  chyle  from  the 

intestines  and  carry  it  mixed  with  the  blood  to  the  liver. 

For  the  blood  entering  the  mesentery  by  the  coeliac  artery, 
and  the  superior  and  inferior  mesenteries,  proceeds  to  the 
intestines,  from  which,  along  with  the  chyle  that  has  been 
attracted  into  the  veins,  it  returns  by  their  numerous  rami- 
fications into  the  vena  portae  of  the  liver,  and  from  this 

into  the  vena  cava,  and  this  in  such  wise  that  the  blood 


134 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


in  these  veins  has  the  same  colour  and  consistency  as 
in  other  veins,  in  opposition  to  what  many  believe  to  be 
the  fact.  Nor  indeed  can  we  imagine  two  contrary  mo- 
tions in  any  capillary  system — the  chyle  upwards,  the  blood 
downwards.  This  could  scarcely  take  place,  and  must  be 
held  as  altogether  improbable.  But  is  not  the  thing  rather 
arranged  as  it  is  by  the  consummate  providence  of  nature? 
For  were  the  chyle  mingled  with  the  blood,  the  crude  with 
the  digested,  in  equal  proportions,  the  result  would  not  be 
concoction,  transmutation,  and  sanguification,  but  rather, 
and  because  they  are  severally  active  and  passive,  a mix- 
ture or  combination,  or  medium  compound  of  the  two, 
precisely  as  happens  when  wine  is  mixed  with  water  and 
syrup.  But  when  a very  minute  quantity  of  chyle  is  mingled 
with  a very  large  quantity  of  circulating  blood,  a quantity 
of  chyle  that  bears  no  kind  of  proportion  to  the  mass  of 
blood,  the  effect  is  the  same,  as  Aristotle  says,  as  when 
a drop  of  water  is  added  to  a cask  of  wine,  or  the  con- 
trary; the  mass  does  not  then  present  itself  as  a mixture, 
but  is  still  sensibly  either  wine  or  water. 

So  in  the  mesenteric  veins  of  an  animal  we  do  not  find 
either  chyme  or  chyle  and  blood,  blended  together  or  dis- 
tinct, but  only  blood,  the  same  in  colour,  consistency,  and 
other  sensible  properties,  as  it  appears  in  the  veins  generally. 
Still  as  there  is  a certain  though  small  and  inappreciable 
portion  of  chyle  or  incompletely  digested  matter  mingled 
with  the  blood,  nature  has  interposed  the  liver,  in  whose 
meandering  channels  it  suffers  delay  and  undergoes  ad- 
ditional change,  lest  arriving  prematurely  and  crude  at  the 
heart,  it  should  oppress  the  vital  principle.  Hence  in  the 
embryo,  there  is  almost  no  use  for  the  liver,  but  the 
umbilical  vein  passes  directly  through,  a foramen  or  an 
anastomosis  existing  from  the  vena  portae.  The  blood  re- 
turns from  the  intestines  of  the  foetus,  not  through  the 
liver,  but  into  the  umbilical  vein  mentioned,  and  flows  at 
once  into  the  heart,  mingled  with  the  natural  blood  which 
is  returning  from  the  placenta;  whence  also  it  is  that  in 
the  development  of  the  foetus  the  liver  is  one  of  the  organs 
that  is  last  formed.  I have  observed  all  the  members 
perfectly  marked  out  in  the  human  foetus,  even  the  genital 


CIRCULATION  OP  THE  BLOOD 


135 


organs,  whilst  there  was  yet  scarcely  any  trace  of  the  liver. 
And  indeed  at  the  period  when  all  the  parts,  like  the  heart 
itself  in  the  beginning,  are  still  white,  and  except  in  the 
veins  there  is  no  appearance  of  redness,  you  shall  see 
nothing  in  the  seat  of  the  liver  but  a shapeless  collection, 
as  it  were,  of  extravasated  blood,  which  you  might  take 
for  the  effects  of  a contusion  or  ruptured  vein. 

But  in  the  incubated  egg  there  are,  as  it  were,  two 
umbilical  vessels,  one  from  the  albumen  passing  entire 
through  the  liver,  and  going  straight  to  the  heart;  another 
from  the  yelk,  ending  in  the  vena  portse ; for  it  appears 
that  the  chick,  in  the  first  instance,  is  entirely  formed  and 
nourished  by  the  white ; but  by  the  yelk  after  it  has  come 
to  perfection  and  is  excluded  from  the  shell ; for  this  part 
may  still  be  found  in  the  abdomen  of  the  chick  many  days 
after  its  exclusion,  and  is  a substitute  for  the  milk  to 
other  animals. 

But  these  matters  will  be  better  spoken  of  in  my  ob- 
servations on  the  formation  of  the  foetus,  where  many 
propositions,  the  following  among  the  number,  will  be  dis- 
cussed: Wherefore  is  this  part  formed  or  perfected  first, 
that  last,  and  of  the  several  members,  what  part  is  the 
cause  of  another?  And  there  are  many  points  having 
special  reference  to  the  heart,  such  as  wherefore  does 
it  first  acquire  consistency,  and  appear  to  possess  life, 
motion,  sense,  before  any  other  part  of  the  body  is  per- 
fected, as  Aristotle  says  in  his  third  book,  “ De  partibus 
Animalium  ” ? And  so  also  of  the  blood,  wherefore  does 
it  precede  all  the  rest?  And  in  what  way  does  it  possess 
the  vital  and  animal  principle,  and  show  a tendency  to 
motion,  and  to  be  impelled  hither  and  thither,  the  end  for 
which  the  heart  appears  to  be  made  ? In  the  same  way, 
in  considering  the  pulse,  why  should  one  kind  of  pulse 
indicate  death,  another  recovery?  And  so  of  all  the  other 
kinds  of  pulse,  what  may  be  the  cause  and  indication  of 
each?  Likewise  we  must  consider  the  reason  of  crises 
and  natural  critical  discharges;  of  nutrition,  and  especially 
the  distribution  of  the  nutriment;  and  of  defluxions  of 
every  description.  Finally,  reflecting  on  every  part  of 
medicine,  physiology,  pathology,  semeiotics  and  therapeutics. 


136 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


when  I see  how  many  questions  can  be  answered,  how 
many  doubts  resolved,  how  much  obscurity  illustrated  by 
the  truth  we  have  declared,  the  light  we  have  made  to 
shine,  I see  a field  of  such  vast  extent  in  which  I might 
proceed  so  far,  and  expatiate  so  widely,  that  this  my  trac- 
tate would  not  only  swell  out  into  a volume,  which  was 
beyond  my  purpose,  but  my  whole  life,  perchance,  would 
not  suffice  for  its  completion. 

In  this  place,  therefore,  and  that  indeed  in  a single 
chapter,  I shall  only  endeavour  to  refer  the  various  par- 
ticulars that  present  themselves  in  the  dissection  of  the 
heart  and  arteries  to  their  several  uses  and  causes;  for  so 
I shall  meet  with  many  things  which  receive  light  from 
the  truth  I have  been  contending  for,  and  which,  in  their 
turn,  render  it  more  obvious.  And  indeed  I would  have 
it  confirmed  and  illustrated  by  anatomical  arguments  above 
all  others. 

There  is  but  a single  point  which  indeed  would  be  more 
correctly  placed  among  our  observations  on  the  use  of  the 
spleen,  but  which  it  will  not  be  altogether  impertinent  to 
notice  in  this  place  incidentally.  From  the  splenic  branch 
which  passes  into  the  pancreas,  and  from  the  upper  part, 
arise  the  posterior  coronary,  gastric,  and  gastroepiploic 
veins,  all  of  which  are  distributed  upon  the  stomach  in 
numerous  branches  and  twigs,  just  as  the  mesenteric  ves- 
sels are  upon  the  intestines.  In  a similar  way,  from  the 
inferior  part  of  the  same  splenic  branch,  and  along  the 
back  of  the  colon  and  rectum  proceed  the  hemorrhoidal 
veins.  The  blood  returning  by  these  veins,  and  bringing 
the  cruder  juices  along  with  it,  on  the  one  hand  from 
the  stomach,  where  they  are  thin,  watery,  and  not  yet  per- 
fectly chylified;  on  the  other  thick  and  more  earthy,  as 
derived  from  the  faeces,  but  all  poured  into  this  splenic 
branch,  are  duly  tempered  by  the  admixture  of  contraries; 
and  nature  mingling  together  these  two  kinds  of  juices, 
difficult  of  coction  by  reason  of  most  opposite  defects, 
and  then  diluting  them  with  a large  quantity  of  warm 
blood,  ( for  we  see  that  the  quantity  returned  from  the 
spleen  must  be  very  large  when  we  contemplate  the  size 
of  its  arteries,)  they  are  brought  to  the  porta  of  the  liver 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


137 


in  a state  of  higher  preparation.  The  defects  of  either 
extreme  are  supplied  and  compensated  by  this  arrange- 
ment of  the  veins. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

The  Motion  and  Circulation  of  the  Blood  are  Con- 
firmed from  the  Particulars  Apparent  in  the 
Structure  of  the  Heart,  and  from  Those  Things 
which  Dissection  Unfolds 

I do  not  find  the  heart  as  a distinct  and  separate  part 
in  all  animals;  some,  indeed,  such  as  the  zoophytes,  have 
no  heart ; this  is  because  these  animals  are  coldest,  of  one 
great  bulk,  of  soft  texture,  or  of  a certain  uniform  same- 
ness or  simplicity  of  structure;  among  the  number  I may 
instance  grubs  and  earth-worms,  and  those  that  are  en- 
gendered of  putrefaction  and  do  not  preserve  their  species. 
These  have  no  heart,  as  not  requiring  any  impeller  of 
nourishment  into  the  extreme  parts ; for  they  have  bodies 
which  are  connate  and  homogeneous  and  without  limbs ; so 
that  by  the  contraction  and  relaxation  of  the  whole  body 
they  assume  and  expel,  move  and  remove,  the  aliment. 
Oysters,  mussels,  sponges,  and  the  whole  genus  of  zoophytes 
or  plant-animals  have  no  heart,  for  the  whole  body  is  used 
as  a heart,  or  the  wliole  animal  is  a heart.  In  a great 
number  of  animals, — almost  the  whole  tribe  of  insects — 
we  cannot  see  distinctly  by  reason  of  the  smallness  of  the 
body;  still  in  bees,  flies,  hornets,  and  the  like  we  can  per- 
ceive something  pulsating  with  the  help  of  a magnifying- 
glass  ; in  pediculi,  also,  the  same  thing  may  be  seen,  and 
as  the  body  is  transparent,  the  passage  of  the  food  through 
the  intestines,  like  a black  spot  or  stain,  may  be  perceived 
by  the  aid  of  the  same  magnifying-glass. 

But  in  some  of  the  pale-blooded  and  colder  animals,  a;s 
in  snails,  whelks,  shrimps,  and  shell-fish,  there  is  a part 
which  pulsates, — a kind  of  vesicle  or  auricle  without  a 
heart, — slowly,  indeed,  and  not  to  be  perceived  except  in 
the  warmer  season  of  the  year.  In  these  creatures  this 
part  is  so  contrived  that  it  shall  pulsate,  as  there  is  here 
a necessity  for  some  impulse  to  distribute  the  nutritive 


138 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


fluid,  by  reason  of  the  variety  of  organic  parts,  or  of  the 
density  of  the  substance ; but  the  pulsations  occur  unfre- 
quently,  and  sometimes  in  consequence  of  the  cold  not  at 
all,  an  arrangement  the  best  adapted  to  them  as  being  of 
a doubtful  nature,  so  that  sometimes  they  appear  to  live, 
sometimes  to  die;  sometimes  they  show  the  vitality  of  an 
animal,  sometimes  of  a vegetable.  This  seems  also  to  be 
the  case  with  the  insects  which  conceal  themselves  in  winter, 
and  lie,  as  it  were,  defunct,  or  merely  manifesting  a kind 
of  vegetative  existence.  But  whether  the  same  thing  hap- 
pens in  the  case  of  certain  animals  that  have  red  blood, 
such  as  frogs,  tortoises,  serpents,  swallows,  may  be  very 
properly  doubted. 

In  all  the  larger  and  warmer  animals  which  have  red 
blood,  there  was  need  of  an  impeller  of  the  nutritive  fluid, 
and  that,  perchance,  possessing  a considerable  amount  of 
power.  In  fishes,  serpents,  lizards,  tortoises,  frogs,  and 
others  of  the  same  kind  there  is  a heart  present,  furnished 
with  both  an  auricle  and  a ventricle,  whence  it  is  perfectly 
true,  as  Aristotle  has  observed,1  that  no  sanguineous  animal 
is  without  a heart,  by  the  impelling  power  of  which  the 
nutritive  fluid  is  forced,  both  with  greater  vigour  and 
rapidity,  to  a greater  distance ; and  not  merely  agitated  by 
an  auricle,  as  it  is  in  lower  forms.  And  then  in  regard 
to  animals  that  are  yet  larger,  warmer,  and  more  perfect, 
as  they  abound  in  blood,  which  is  always  hotter  and  more 
spirituous,  and  which  possess  bodies  of  greater  size  and 
consistency,  these  require  a larger,  stronger,  and  more 
fleshy  heart,  in  order  that  the  nutritive  fluid  may  be  pro- 
pelled with  yet  greater  force  and  celerity.  And  further, 
inasmuch  as  the  more  perfect  animals  require  a still  more 
perfect  nutrition,  and  a larger  supply  of  native  heat,  in 
order  that  the  aliment  may  be  thoroughly  concocted  and 
acquire  the  last  degree  of  perfection,  they  required  both 
lungs  and  a second  ventricle,  which  should  force  the  nu- 
tritive fluid  through  them. 

Every  animal  that  has  lungs  has,  therefore,  two  ven- 
tricles to  its  heart — one  right,  the  other  left;  and  wherever 
there  is  a right,  there  also  is  there  a left  ventricle;  but 
1 De  Part.  Animal.,  lib.  iii. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


139 


the  contrary  of  this  does  not  hold  good:  where  there  is  a 
left  there  is  not  always  a right  ventricle.  The  left  ven- 
tricle I call  that  which  is  distinct  in  office,  not  in  place  from 
the  other,  that  one,  namely,  which  distributes  the  blood  to 
the  body  at  large,  not  to  the  lungs  only.  Hence  the  left 
ventricle  seems  to  form  the  principle  part  of  the  heart; 
situated  in  the  middle,  more  strongly  marked,  and  con- 
structed with  greater  care,  the  heart  seems  formed  for  the 
sake  of  the  left  ventricle,  and  the  right  but  to  minister  to  it. 
The  right  neither  reaches  to  the  apex  of  the  heart  nor 
is  it  nearly  of  such  strength,  being  three  times  thinner  in 
its  walls,  and  in  some  sort  jointed  on  to  the  left  (as  Aris- 
totle says),  though,  indeed,  it  is  of  greater  capacity,  in- 
asmuch as  it  has  not  only  to  supply  material  to  the  left 
ventricle,  but  likewise  to  furnish  aliment  to  the  lungs. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  all  this  is  otherwise  in 
the  embryo,  where  there  is  not  such  a difference  between  the 
two  ventricles.  There,  as  in  a double  nut,  they  are  nearly 
equal  in  all  respects,  the  apex  of  the  right  reaching  to  the 
apex  of  the  left,  so  that  the  heart  presents  itself  as  a sort 
of  double-pointed  cone.  And  this  is  so,  because  in  the  foetus, 
as  already  said,  whilst  the  blood  is  not  passing  through  the 
lungs  from  the  right  to  the  left  cavities  of  the  heart,  it  flows 
by  the  foramen  ovale  and  ductus  arteriosus  directly  from 
the  vena  cava  into  the  aorta,  whence  it  is  distributed  to  the 
whole  body.  Both  ventricles  have,  therefore,  the  same  office 
to  perform,  whence  their  equality  of  constitution.  It  is  only 
when  the  lungs  come  to  be  used  and  it  is  requisite  that  the 
passages  indicated  should  be  blocked  up  that  the  difference 
in  point  of  strength  and  other  things  between  the  two  ventri- 
cles begins  to  be  apparent.  In  the  altered  circumstances  the 
right  has  only  to  drive  the  blood  through  the  lungs,  whilst 
the  left  has  to  propel  it  through  the  whole  body. 

There  are,  moreover,  within  the  heart  numerous  braces, 
in  the  form  of  fleshy  columns  and  fibrous  bands,  which 
Aristotle,  in  his  third  book  on  “Respiration,”  and  the  “Parts 
of  Animals,”  entitles  nerves.  These  are  variously  extended, 
and  are  either  distinct  or  contained  in  grooves  in  the  walls 
and  partition,  where  they  occasion  numerous  pits  or  depres- 
sions. They  constitute  a kind  of  small  muscles,  which  are 


140 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


superadded  and  supplementary  to  the  heart,  assisting  it  to 
execute  a more  powerful  and  perfect  contraction,  and  so 
proving  subservient  to  the  complete  expulsion  of  the  blood. 
They  are,  in  some  sort,  like  the  elaborate  and  artful  arrange- 
ment of  ropes  in  a ship,  bracing  the  heart  on  every  side  as 
it  contracts,  and  so  enabling  it  more  effectually  and  forcibly 
to  expel  the  charge  of  blood  from  its  ventricles.  This  much 
is  plain,  at  all  events,  that  in  some  animals  they  are  less 
strongly  marked  than  in  others;  and,  in  all  that  have  them, 
they  are  more  numerous  and  stronger  in  the  left  than  in 
the  right  ventricle;  and  while  some  have  them  present  in 
the  left,  yet  they  are  absent  in  the  right  ventricle.  In  man 
they  are  more  numerous  in  the  left  than  in  the  right  ventri- 
cle, more  abundant  in  the  ventricles  than  in  the  auricles ; and 
occasionally  there  appear  to  be  none  present  in  the  auricles. 
They  are  numerous  in  the  large,  more  muscular  and  hardier 
bodies  of  countrymen,  but  fewer  in  more  slender  frames  and 
in  females. 

In  those  animals  in  which  the  ventricles  of  the  heart  are 
smooth  within  and  entirely  without  fibres  of  muscular  bands, 
or  anything  like  hollow  pits,  as  in  almost  all  the  smaller  birds, 
the  partridge  and  the  common  fowl,  serpents,  frogs,  tortoises, 
and  most  fishes,  there  are  no  chordae  tendineae,  nor  bundles 
of  fibres,  neither  are  there  any  tricuspid  valves  in  the 
ventricles. 

Some  animals  have  the  right  ventricle  smooth  internally, 
but  the  left  provided  with  fibrous  bands,  such  as  the  goose, 
swan,  and  larger  birds ; and  the  reason  is  the  same  here  as 
elsewhere.  As  the  lungs  are  spongy  and  loose  and  soft,  no 
great  amount  of  force  is  required  to  force  the  blood  through 
them ; therefore  the  right  ventricle  is  either  without  the 
bundles  in  question,  or  they  are  fewer  and  weaker,  and  not 
so  fleshy  or  like  muscles.  Those  of  the  left  ventricle,  how- 
ever, are  both  stronger  and  more  numerous,  more  fleshy  and 
muscular,  because  the  left  ventricle  requires  to  be  stronger, 
inasmuch  as  the  blood  which  it  propels  has  to  be  driven 
through  the  whole  body.  And  this,  too,  is  the  reason  why 
the  left  ventricle  occupies  the  middle  of  the  heart,  and  has 
parietes  three  times  thicker  and  stronger  than  those  of  the 
right.  Hence  all  animals- -and  among  men  it  is  similar — 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


141 


that  are  endowed  with  particularly  strong  frames,  and  with 
large  and  fleshy  limbs  at  a great  distance  from  the  heart, 
have  this  central  organ  of  greater  thickness,  strength,  and 
muscularity.  This  is  manifest  and  necessary.  Those,  on  the 
contrary,  that  are  of  softer  and  more  slender  make  have  the 
heart  more  flaccid,  softer,  and  internally  either  less  or  not 
at  all  fibrous.  Consider,  farther,  the  use  of  the  several 
valves,  which  are  all  so  arranged  that  the  blood,  once  receiv- 
ed into  the  ventricles  of  the  heart,  shall  never  regurgitate ; 
once  forced  into  the  pulmonary  artery  and  aorta,  shall  not 
flow  back  upon  the  ventricles.  When  the  valves  are  raised 
and  brought  together,  they  form  a three-cornered  line,  such 
as  is  left  by  the  bite  of  a leech ; and  the  more  they  are  forced, 
the  more  firmly  do  they  oppose  the  passage  of  the  blood.  The 
tricuspid  valves  are  placed,  like  gate-keepers,  at  the  entrance 
into  the  ventricles  from  the  venae  cavae  and  pulmonary  veins, 
lest  the  blood  when  most  forcibly  impelled  should  flow  back. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  they  are  not  found  in  all  animals,  nor 
do  they  appear  to  have  been  constructed  with  equal  care  in 
all  animals  in  which  they  are  found.  In  some  they  are  more 
accurately  fitted,  in  others  more  remissly  or  carelessly  con- 
trived, and  always  with  a view  to  their  being  closed  under  a 
greater  or  a slighter  force  of  the  ventricle.  In  the  left  ven- 
tricle, therefore,  in  order  that  the  occlusion  may  be  the  more 
perfect  against  the  greater  impulse,  there  are  only  two  valves, 
like  a mitre,  and  produced  into  an  elongated  cone,  so  that 
they  come  together  and  touch  to  their  middle ; a circumstance 
which  perhaps  led  Aristotle  into  the  error  of  supposing  this 
ventricle  to  be  double,  the  division  taking  place  transversely. 
For  the  same  reason,  and  that  the  blood  may  not  regurgitate 
upon  the  pulmonary  veins,  and  thus  the  force  of  the  ventricle 
in  propelling  the  blood  through  the  system  at  large  come  to 
be  neutralized,  it  is  that  these  mitral  valves  excel  those  of  the 
right  ventricle  in  size  and  strength  and  exactness  of  closing. 
Hence  it  is  essential  that  there  can  be  no  heart  without  a 
ventricle,  since  this  must  be  the  source  and  store-house  of 
the  blood.  The  same  law  does  not  hold  good  in  reference 
to  the  brain.  For  almost  no  genus  of  birds  has  a ventricle 
in  the  brain,  as  is  obvious  in  the  goose  and  swan,  the  brains 
of  which  nearly  equal  that  of  a rabbit  in  size;  now  rabbits 


142 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


have  ventricles  in  the  brain,  whilst  the  goose  has  none.  In 
like  manner,  wherever  the  heart  has  a single  ventricle,  there 
is  an  auricle  appended,  flaccid,  membranous,  hollow,  filled 
with  blood ; and  where  there  are  two  ventricles,  there  are 
likewise  two  auricles.  On  the  other  hand,  some  animals  have 
an  auricle  without  any  ventricle ; or,  at  all  events,  they  have 
a sac  analogous  to  an  auricle ; or  the  vein  itself,  dilated  at  a 
particular  part,  performs  pulsations,  as  is  seen  in  hornets, 
bees,  and  other  insects,  which  certain  experiments  of  my 
own  enable  me  to  demonstrate,  have  not  only  a pulse,  but  a 
respiration  in  that  part  which  is  called  the  tail,  whence  it  is 
that  this  part  is  elongated  and  contracted  now  more  rarely, 
now  more  frequently,  as  the  creature  appears  to  be  blown  and 
to  require  a large  quantity  of  air.  But  of  these  things,  more 
in  our  “Treatise  on  Respiration.” 

It  is  in  like  manner  evident  that  the  auricles  pulsate,  con- 
tract, as  I have  said  before,  and  throw  the  blood  into  the 
ventricles;  so  that  wherever  there  is  a ventricle,  an  auricle 
is  necessary,  not  merely  that  it  may  serve,  according  to  the 
general  belief,  as  a source  and  magazine  for  the  blood:  for 
what  were  the  use  of  its  pulsations  had  it  only  to  contain? 

The  auricles  are  prime  movers  of  the  blood,  especially  the 
right  auricle,  which,  as  already  said,  is  “the  first  to  live,  the 
last  to  die” ; whence  they  are  subservient  to  sending  the 
blood  into  the  ventricles,  which,  contracting  continuously, 
more  readily  and  forcibly  expel  the  blood  already  in  motion ; 
just  as  the  ball-player  can  strike  the  ball  more  forcibly  and 
further  if  he  takes  it  on  the  rebound  than  if  he  simply  threw 
it.  Moreover,  and  contrary  to  the  general  opinion,  neither 
the  heart  nor  anything  else  can  dilate  or  distend  itself  so 
as  to  draw  anything  into  its  cavity  during  the  diastole,  unless, 
like  a sponge,  it  has  been  first  compressed  and  is  returning  to 
its  primary  condition.  But  in  animals  all  local  motion  pro- 
ceeds from,  and  has  its  origin  in,  the  contraction  of  some 
part;  consequently  it  is  by  the  contraction  of  the  auricles 
that  the  blood  is  thrown  into  the  ventricles,  as  I have  already 
shown,  and  from  there,  by  the  contraction  of  the  ventricles, 
it  is  propelled  and  distributed.  Concerning  local  motions,  it 
is  true  that  the  immediate  moving  organ  in  every  motion  of 
an  animal  primarily  endowed  with  a motive  spirit  (as  Aris- 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


143 


totle  has  it2)  is  contractile ; in  which  way  the  word  vebpou 
is  derived  from  vebut,  nuto,  contraho;  and  if  I am  permitted 
to  proceed  in  my  purpose  of  making  a particular  demonstra- 
tion of  the  organs  of  motion  in  animals  from  observations 
in  my  possession,  I trust  I shall  be  able  to  make  sufficiently 
plain  how  Aristotle  was  acquainted  with  the  muscles,  and 
advisedly  referred  all  motion  in  animals  to  the  nerves,  or  to 
the  contractile  element,  and,  therefore,  called  those  little 
bands  in  the  heart  nerves. 

But  that  we  may  proceed  with  the  subject  which  we  have 
in  hand,  viz.,  the  use  of  the  auricles  in  filling  the  ventricles, 
we  should  expect  that  the  more  dense  and  compact  the  heart, 
the  thicker  its  parietes,  the  stronger  and  more  muscular  must 
be  the  auricle  to  force  and  fill  it,  and  vice  versa.  Now  this 
is  actually  so : in  some  the  auricle  presents  itself  as  a san- 
guinolent  vesicle,  as  a thin  membrane  containing  blood,  as  in 
fishes,  in  which  the  sac  that  stands  in  lieu  of  the  auricles 
is  of  such  delicacy  and  ample  capacity  that  it  seems  to  be 
suspended  or  to  float  above  the  heart.  In  those  fishes  in 
which  the  sac  is  somewhat  more  fleshy,  as  in  the  carp, 
barbel,  tench,  and  others,  it  bears  a wonderful  and  strong 
resemblance  to  the  lungs. 

In  some  men  of  sturdier  frame  and  stouter  make  the  right 
auricle  is  so  strong,  and  so  curiously  constructed  on  its  inner 
surface  of  bands  and  variously  interlacing  fibres,  that  it 
seems  to  equal  in  strength  the  ventricle  of  the  heart  in  other 
subjects;  and  I must  say  that  I am  astonished  to  find  such 
diversity  in  this  particular  in  different  individuals.  It  is  to 
be  observed,  however,  that  in  the  foetus  the  auricles  are  out 
of  all  proportion  large,  which  is  because  they  are  present  be- 
fore the  heartmakes  its  appearance  or  suffices  for  its  office  even 
when  it  has  appeared,  and  they,  therefore,  have,  as  it  were, 
the  duty  of  the  whole  heart  committed  to  them,  as  has  al- 
ready been  demonstrated.  But  what  I have  observed  in  the 
formation  of  the  foetus,  as  before  remarked  (and  Aristotle 
had  already  confirmed  all  in  studying  the  incubated  egg), 
throws  the  greatest  light  and  likelihood  upon  the  point. 
Whilst  the  foetus  is  yet  in  the  form  of  a soft  worm,  or, 
as  is  commonly  said,  in  the  milk,  there  is  a mere  bloody 
2 In  the  book  de  Spiritu,  and  elsewhere. 


144 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


point  or  pulsating  vesicle,  a portion  apparently  of  the  umbil- 
ical vein,  dilated  at  its  commencement  or  base.  Afterwards, 
when  the  outline  of  the  foetus  is  distinctly  indicated  and  it 
begins  to  have  greater  bodily  consistence,  the  vesicle  in  ques- 
tion becomes  more  fleshy  and  stronger,  changes  its  position, 
and  passes  into  the  auricles,  above  which  the  body  of  the 
heart  begins  to  sprout,  though  as  yet  it  apparently  per- 
forms no  office.  When  the  foetus  is  farther  advanced,  when 
the  bones  can  be  distinguished  from  the  fleshy  parts  and 
movements  take  place,  then  it  also  has  a heart  which  pul- 
sates, and,  as  I have  said,  throws  blood  by  either  ventricle 
from  the  vena  cava  into  the  arteries. 

Thus  nature,  ever  perfect  and  divine,  doing  nothing  in 
vain,  has  neither  given  a heart  where  it  was  not  required, 
nor  produced  it  before  its  office  had  become  necessary ; but 
by  the  same  stages  in  the  development  of  every  animal,  pass- 
ing through  the  forms  of  all,  as  I may  say  (ovum,  worm, 
foetus),  it  acquires  perfection  in  each.  These  points  will 
be  found  elsewhere  confirmed  by  numerous  observations 
on  the  formation  of  the  foetus. 

Finally,  it  is  not  without  good  grounds  that  Hippocra- 
tes in  his  book,  “ De  Corde,”  entitles  it  a muscle ; its 
action  is  the  same;  so  is  its  functions,  viz.,  to  contract 
and  move  something  else — in  this  case  the  charge  of  the 
blood. 

Farther,  we  can  infer  the  action  and  use  of  the  heart 
from  the  arrangement  of  its  fibres  and  its  general  structures, 
as  in  muscles  generally.  All  anatomists  admit  with  Galen 
that  the  body  of  the  heart  is  made  up  of  various  courses  of 
fibres  running  straight,  obliquely,  and  transversely,  with  ref- 
ference  to  one  another ; but  in  a heart  which  has  been 
boiled,  the  arrangement  of  the  fibres  is  seen  to  be  different. 
All  the  fibres  in  the  parietes  and  septum  are  circular,  as  in 
the  sphincters ; those,  again,  which  are  in  the  columns  ex- 
tend lengthwise,  and  are  oblique  longitudinally;  and  so  it 
comes  to  pass  that  when  all  the  fibres  contract  simultaneously, 
the  apex  of  the  cone  is  pulled  towards  its  base  by  the  col- 
umns, the  walls  are  drawn  circularly  together  into  a globe — 
the  whole  heart,  in  short,  is  contracted  and  the  ventricles 
narrowed.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  not  to  perceive  that. 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


145 


as  the  action  of  the  organ  is  so  plainly  contraction,  its 
function  is  to  propel  the  blood  into  the  arteries. 

Nor  are  we  the  less  to  agree  with  Aristotle  in  regard  to 
the  importance  of  the  heart,  or  to  question  if  it  receives  sense 
and  motion  from  the  brain,  blood  from  the  liver,  or  whether 
it  be  the  origin  of  the  veins  and  of  the  blood,  and  such  like. 
They  who  affirm  these  propositions  overlook,  or  do  not  rightly 
understand,  the  principal  argument,  to  the  effect  that  the 
heart  is  the  first  part  which  exists,  and  that  it  contains  within 
itself  blood,  life,  sensation,  and  motion,  before  either  the 
brain  or  the  liver  were  created  or  had  appeared  distinctly, 
or,  at  all  events,  before  they  could  perform  any  function. 
The  heart,  ready  furnished  with  its  proper  organs  of  motion, 
like  a kind  of  internal  creature,  existed  before  the  body. 
The  first  to  be  formed,  nature  willed  that  it  should  after- 
wards fashion,  nourish,  preserve,  complete  the  entire  animal, 
as  its  work  and  dwelling-place:  and  as  the  prince  in  a king- 
dom, in  whose  hands  lie  the  chief  and  highest  authority, 
rules  over  all,  the  heart  is  the  source  and  foundation  from 
which  all  power  is  derived,  on  which  all  power  depends  in 
the  animal  body. 

Many  things  having  reference  to  the  arteries  farther  il- 
lustrate and  confirm  this  truth.  Why  does  not  the  pulmo- 
nary vein  pulsate,  seeing  that  it  is  numbered  among  the 
arteries?  Or  wherefore  is  there  a pulse  in  the  pulmonary 
artery?  Because  the  pulse  of  the  arteries  is  derived  from 
the  impulse  of  the  blood.  Why  does  an  artery  differ  so 
much  from  a vein  in  the  thickness  and  strength  of  its  coats? 
Because  it  sustains  the  shock  of  the  impelling  heart  and 
streaming  blood.  Hence,  as  perfect  nature  does  nothing 
in  vain,  and  suffices  under  all  circumstances,  we  find  that 
the  nearer  the  arteries  are  to  the  heart,  the  more  do  they 
differ  from  the  veins  in  structure ; here  they  are  both  stronger 
and  more  ligamentous,  whilst  in  extreme  parts  of  the  body, 
such  as  the  feet  and  hands,  the  brain,  the  mesentery,  and 
the  testicles,  the  two  orders  of  vessels  are  so  much  alike 
that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  between  them  with  the 
eye.  Now  this  is  for  the  following  very  sufficient  reasons : 
the  more  remote  the  vessels  are  from  the  heart,  with  so  much 
the  less  force  are  they  distended  by  the  stroke  of  the  heart, 


146 


WILLIAM  HARVEY 


which  is  broken  by  the  great  distance  at  which  it  is  given. 
Add  to  this  that  the  impulse  of  the  heart  exerted  upon  the 
mass  of  blood,  which  must  needs  fill  the  trunks  and  branches 
of  the  arteries,  is  diverted,  divided,  as  it  were,  and  diminished 
at  every  subdivision,  so  that  the  ultimate  capillary  divisions  of 
the  arteries  look  like  veins,  and  this  not  merely  in  constitu- 
tion, but  in  function.  They  have  either  no  perceptible  pulse, 
or  they  rarely  exhibit  one,  and  never  except  where  the  heart 
beats  more  violently  than  usual,  or  at  a part  where  the  minute 
vessel  is  more  dilated  or  open  than  elsewhere.  It,  therefore, 
happens  that  at  times  we  are  aware  of  a pulse  in  the  teeth, 
in  inflammatory  tumours,  and  in  the  fingers;  at  another  time 
we  feel  nothing  of  the  sort.  By  this  single  symptom  I have 
ascertained  for  certain  that  young  persons  whose  pulses  are 
naturally  rapid  were  labouring  under  fever;  and  in  like  man- 
ner, on  compressing  the  fingers  in  youthful  and  delicate  sub- 
jects during  a febrile  paroxysm,  I have  readily  perceived 
the  pulse  there.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  heart  pul- 
sates more  languidly,  it  is  often  impossible  to  feel  the  pulse 
not  merely  in  the  fingers,  but  the  wrist,  and  even  at  the 
temple,  as  in  persons  afflicted  with  lipothymise  asphyxia,  or 
hysterical  symptoms,  and  in  the  debilitated  and  moribund. 

Here  surgeons  are  to  be  advised  that,  when  the  blood 
escapes  with  force  in  the  amputation  of  limbs,  in  the  removal 
of  tumours,  and  in  wounds,  it  constantly  comes  from  an 
artery ; not  always  indeed  per  saltum,  because  the  smaller 
arteries  do  not  pulsate,  especially  if  a tourniquet  has  been 
applied. 

For  the  same  reason  the  pulmonary  artery  not  only  has  the 
structure  of  an  artery,  but  it  does'  not  differ  so  widely  from 
the  veins  in  the  thickness  of  its  walls  as  does  the  aorta.  The 
aorta  sustains  a more  powerful  shock  from  the  left  than  the 
pulmonary  artery  does  from  the  right  ventricle,  and  the 
walls  of  this  last  vessel  are  thinner  and  softer  than  those  of 
the  aorta  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  walls  of  the  right 
ventricle  of  the  heart  are  weaker  and  thinner  than  those  of 
the  left  ventricle.  In  like  manner  the  lungs  are  softer  and 
laxer  in  structure  than  the  flesh  and  other  constituents  of 
the  body,  and  in  a similar  way  the  walls  of  the  branches  of 
the  pulmonary  artery  differ  from  those  of  the  vessels  derived 


CIRCULATION  OF  THE  BLOOD 


147 


from  the  aorta.  And  the  same  proportion  in  these  particulars 
is  universally  preserved.  The  more  muscular  and  powerful 
men  are,  the  firmer  their  flesh ; the  stronger,  thicker,  denser, 
and  more  fibrous  their  hearts,  the  thicker,  closer,  and  stronger 
are  the  auricles  and  arteries.  Again,  in  those  animals  the 
ventricles  of  whose  hearts  are  smooth  on  their  inner  surface, 
without  villi  or  valves,  and  the  walls  of  which  are  thin,  as 
in  fishes,  serpents,  birds,  and  very  many  genera  of  animals, 
the  arteries  differ  little  or  nothing  in  the  thickness  of  their 
coats  from  the  veins. 

Moreover,  the  reason  why  the  lungs  have  such  ample 
vessels,  both  arteries  and  veins  (for  the  capacity  of  the 
pulmonary  veins  exceeds  that  of  both  crural  and  jugular  ves- 
sels), and  why  they  contain  so  large  a quantity  of  blood, 
as  by  experience  and  ocular  inspection  we  know  they  do, 
admonished  of  the  fact  indeed  by  Aristotle,  and  not  led  into 
error  by  the  appearances  found  in  animals  which  have  been 
bled  to  death,  is,  because  the  blood  has  its  fountain,  and 
storehouse,  and  the  workshop  of  its  last  perfection,  in  the 
heart  and  lungs.  Why,  in  the  same  way,  we  find  in  the 
course  of  our  anatomical  dissections  the  pulmonary  vein  and 
left  ventricle  so  full  of  blood,  of  the  same  black  colour  and 
clotted  character  as  that  with  which  the  right  ventricle  and 
pulmonary  artery  are  filled,  is  because  the  blood  is  incessantly 
passing  from  one  side  of  the  heart  to  the  other  through  the 
lungs.  Wherefore,  in  fine,  the  pulmonary  artery  has  the 
structure  of  an  artery,  and  the  pulmonary  veins  have  the 
structure  of  veins.  In  function  and  constitution  and  every- 
thing else  the  first  is  an  artery,  the  others  are  veins,  contrary 
to  what  is  commonly  believed ; and  the  reason  why  the  pul- 
monary artery  has  so  large  an  orifice  is  because  it  trans- 
ports much  more  blood  than  is  requisite  for  the  nutrition 
of  the  lungs. 

All  these  appearances,  and  many  others,  to  be  noted  in 
the  course  of  dissection,  if  rightly  weighed,  seem  clearly  to 
illustrate  and  fully  to  confirm  the  truth  contended  for 
throughout  these  pages,  and  at  the  same  time  to  oppose  the 
vulgar  opinion ; for  it  would  be  very  difficult  to>  explain  in 
any  other  way  to  what  purpose  all  is  constructed  and  ar- 
ranged as  we  have  seen  it  to  be, 


THE  THREE  ORIGINAL 
PUBLICATIONS  ON  VACCINATION 
AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


EDWARD  JENNER 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Edward  Jenner  was  born  at  his  father’s  vicarage  at  Berkeley, 
Gloucestershire,  England,  on  May  17,  1749.  After  leaving  school , 
he  was  apprenticed  to  a local  surgeon,  and  in  1770  he  went  to 
London  and  became  a resident  pupil  under  the  great  surgeon 
and  anatomist,  John  Hunter,  with  whom  he  remained  on  intimate 
terms  for  the  rest  of  Hunter’s  life.  In  1773  he  took  up  practise  at 
Berkeley,  where,  except  for  numerous  visits  to  London,  he  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  of  apoplexy  on  January  26,  1823. 

Jenner’ s scientific  interests  were  varied,  but  the  importance  of 
his  work  in  vaccination  has  overshadowed  his  other  results. 
Early  in  his  career  he  had  begun  to  observe  the  phenomena  of 
cowpox,  a disease  common  in  the  rural  parts  of  the  western 
counties  of  England,  and  he  was  familiar  with  the  belief,  current 
among  the  peasantry,  that  a person  who  had  suffered  from  the 
cowpox  could  not  take  smallpox.  Finally,  in  1796,  he  made  his 
first  experiment  in  vaccination,  inoculating  a boy  of  eight  with 
cowpox,  and,  after  his  recovery,  with  smallpox ; with  the  result 
that  the  boy  did  not  take  the  latter  disease. 

Jenner’s  first  paper  on  his  discovery  was  never  printed;  but  in 
1798  appeared  the  first  of  the  following  treatises.  Its  reception 
by  the  medical  profession  was  highly  discouraging;  but  progress 
began  when  Cline,  the  surgeon  of  St.  Thomas’s  Hospital,  used  the 
treatment  with  success.  Jenner  continued  his  investigations,  pub- 
lishing his  results  from  time  to  time,  and  gradually  gaining  rec- 
ognition; though  opposition  to  his  theory  and  practise  was  at 
first  vehement,  and  has  never  entirely  disappeared.  In  1802, 
Parliament  voted  him  £10,000,  and  in  1806,  £20,000,  in  recognition 
of  the  value  of  his  services,  and  the  sacrifices  they  had  entailed. 
As  early  as  1807,  Bavaria  made  vaccination  compulsory ; and  since 
that  date  most  of  the  European  governments  have  officially  en- 
couraged or  compelled  the  practise ; and  smallpox  has  ceased  to 
be  the  almost  universal  scourge  it  was  before  Jenner’s  discovery . 

& 


ISO 


To 

C.  H.  Parry,  M.D. 

At  Bath 

My  Dear  Friend: 

In  the  present  age  of  scientific  investigation  it  is  remarkable 
that  a disease  of  so  peculiar  a nature  as  the  cow-pox,  which  has 
appeared  in  this  and  some  of  the  neighbouring  counties  for  such 
a series  of  years,  should  so  long  have  escaped  particular  atten- 
tion. Finding  the  prevailing  notions  on  the  subject,  both  among 
men  of  our  profession  and  others,  'extremely  vague  and  inde- 
terminate, and  conceiving  that  facts  might  appear  at  once  both 
curious  and  useful,  I have  instituted  as  strict  an  inquiry  into  the 
causes  and  effects  of  this  singular  malady  as  local  circumstances 
would  admit. 

The  following  pages  are  the  result,  which,  from  motives  of 
the  most  affectionate  regard,  are  dedicated  to  you,  by 
Your  sincere  friend, 

Edward  Jenner. 

Berkeley,  Gloucestershire, 

June  21  st,  1798. 


151 


VACCINATION 
AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


i 

An  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  and  Effects  of  the 
Variola  Vaccine,  or  Cow-Pox.  1798 

THE  deviation  of  man  from  the  stage  in  which  he  was 
originally  placed  by  nature  seems  to  have  proved  to 
him  a prolific  source  of  diseases.  From  the  love  of 
splendour,  from  the  indulgences  of  luxury,  and  from  his 
fondness  for  amusement  he  has  familiarised  himself  with 
a great  number  of  animals,  which  may  not  originally  have 
been  intended  for  his  associates. 

The  wolf,  disarmed  of  ferocity,  is  now  pillowed  in  the 
lady’s  lap.1  The  cat,  the  little  tiger  of  our  island,  whose 
natural  home  is  the  forest,  is  equally  domesticated  and 
caressed.  The  cow,  the  hog,  the  sheep,  and  the  horse,  are 
all,  for  a variety  of  purposes,  brought  under  his  care  and 
dominion. 

There  is  a disease  to  which  the  horse,  from  his  state  of 
domestication,  is  frequently  subject.  The  farriers  have 
called  it  the  grease.  It  is  an  inflammation  and  swelling  in 
the  heel,  from  which  issues  matter  possessing  properties  of 
a very  peculiar  kind,  which  seems  capable  of  generating  a 
disease  in  the  human  body  (after  it  has  undergone  the 
modification  which  I shall  presently  speak  of),  which  bears 
so  strong  a resemblance  to  the  smallpox  that  I think  it 
highly  probable  it  may  be  the  source  of  the  disease. 

In  this  dairy  country  a great  number  of  cows  are  kept, 
and  the  office  of  milking  is  performed  indiscriminately  by 


1 The  late  Mr.  John  Hunter  proved,  by  experiments,  that  the  dog  is  the 
wolf  in  a degenerate  state. 

153 


154 


EDWARD  JENNER 


men  and  maid  servants.  One  of  the  former  having  been 
appointed  to  apply  dressings  to  the  heels  of  a horse  affected 
with  the  grease,  and  not  paying  due  attention  to  cleanliness, 
incautiously  bears  his  part  in  milking  the  cows,  with  some 
particles  of  the  infectious  matter  adhering  to  his  fingers. 
When  this  is  the  case,  it  commonly  happens  that  a disease 
is  communicated  to  the  cows,  and  from  the  cows  to  the 
dairymaids,  which  spreads  through  the  farm  until  the  most 
of  the  cattle  and  domestics  feel  its  unpleasant  consequences. 
This  disease  has  obtained  the  name  of  the  cow-pox.  It 
appears  on  the  nipples  of  the  cows  in  the  form  of  irregular 
pustules.  At  their  first  appearance  they  are  commonly  of  a 
palish  blue,  or  rather  of  a colour  somewhat  approaching  to 
livid,  and  are  surrounded  by  an  erysipelatous  inflammation. 
These  pustules,  unless  a timely  remedy  be  applied,  frequently 
degenerate  into  phagedenic  ulcers,  which  prove  extremely 
troublesome.2  The  animals  become  indisposed,  and  the 
secretion  of  milk  is  much  lessened.  Inflamed  spots  now 
begin  to  appear  on  different  parts  of  the  hands  of  the  do- 
mestics employed  in  milking,  and  sometimes  on  the  wrists, 
which  quickly  run  on  to  suppuration,  first  assuming  the 
appearance  of  the  small  vesications  produced  by  a burn. 
Most  commonly  they  appear  about  the  joints  of  the  fingers 
and  at  their  extremities;  but  whatever  parts  are  affected, 
if  the  situation  will  admit,  these  superficial  suppurations  put 
on  a circular  form,  with  their  edges  more  elevated  than  their 
centre,  and  of  a colour  distantly  approaching  to  blue. 
Absorption  takes  place,  and  tumours  appear  in  each  axilla. 
The  system  becomes  affected — the  pulse  is  quickened;  and 
shiverings,  succeeded  by  heat,  with  general  lassitude  and 
pains  about  the  loins  and  limbs,  with  vomiting,  come  on. 
The  head  is  painful,  and  the  patient  is  now  and  then  even 
affected  with  delirium.  These  symptoms,  varying  in  their 
degrees  of  violence,  generally  continue  from  one  day  to 
three  or  four,  leaving  ulcerated  sores  about  the  hands,  which, 
from  the  sensibility  of 'the  parts,  are  very  troublesome,  and 
commonly  heal  slowly,  frequently  becoming  phagedenic,  like 

2 They  who  attend  sick  cattle  in  this  country  find  a speedy  remedy  for 
stopping  the  progress  of  this  complaint  in  those  applications  which  act  chem; 
ically  upon  the  morbid  matter,  such  as  the  solutions  of  the  vitriolum  zinci 
and  the  vitriolum  cupri,  etc. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


155 


those  from  whence  they  sprung.  The  lips,  nostrils,  eyelids, 
and  other  parts  of  the  body  are  sometimes  affected  with 
sores;  but  these  evidently  arise  from  their  being  heedlessly 
rubbed  or  scratched  with  the  patient’s  infected  fingers.  No 
eruptions  on  the  skin  have  followed  the  decline  of  the 
feverish  symptoms  in  any  instance  that  has  come  under  my 
inspection,  one  only  excepted,  and  in  this  case  a very  few 
appeared  on  the  arms : they  were  very  minute,  of  a vivid 
red  colour,  and  soon  died  away  without  advancing  to  matur- 
ation ; so  that  I cannot  determine  whether  they  had  any 
connection  with  the  preceding  symptoms. 

Thus  the  disease  makes  its  progress  from  the  horse3  to 
the  nipple  of  the  cow,  and  from  the  cow  to  the  human 
subject. 

Morbid  matter  of  various  kinds,  when  absorbed  into  the 
system,  may  produce  effects  in  some  degree  similar;  but 
what  renders  the  cow-pox  virus  so  extremely  singular  is 
that  the  person  who  has  been  thus  affected  is  forever  after 
secure  from  the  infection  of  the  smallpox;  neither  exposure 
to  the  variolous  effluvia,  nor  the  insertion  of  the  matter  into 
the  skin,  producing  this  distemper. 

In  support  of  so  extraordinary  a fact,  I shall  lay  before 
my  reader  a great  number  of  instances.* 

Case  I. — Joseph  Merret,  now  an  under  gardener  to  the 
Earl  of  Berkeley,  lived  as  a servant  with  a farmer  near  this 
place  in  the  year  1770,  and  occasionally  assisted  in  milking 
his  master’s  cows.  Several  horses  belonging  to  the  farm 

3 Jenner’s  conclusion  that  “ grease  ” and  cow-pox  were  the  same  disease 
has  since  been  proved  erroneous;  but  this  error  has  not  invalidated  his 
main  conclusion  as  to  the  relation  of  cow-pox  and  smallpox. — Editor. 

4 It  is  necessary  to  observe  that  pustulous  sores  frequently  appear  spon- 
taneously on  the  nipples  of  cows,  and  instances  have  occurred,  though  very 
rarely,  of  the  hands  of  the  servants  employed  in  milking  being  affected  with 
sores  in  consequence,  and  even  of  their  feeling  an  indisposition  from  ab- 
sorption. These  pustules  are  of  a much  milder  nature  than  those  which 
arise  from  that  contagion  which  constitutes  the  true  cow-pox.  They  are 
always  free  from  the  bluish  or  livid  tint  so  conspicuous  in  the  pustules  in 
that  disease.  No  erysipelas  attends  them,  nor  do  they  shew  any  phagedenic 
disposition  as  in  the  other  case,  but  quickly  terminate  in  a scab  without 
creating  any  apparent  disorder  in  the  cow.  This  complaint  appears  at  vari- 
ous seasons  of  the  year,  but  most  commonly  in  the  spring,  when  the  cows 
are  first  taken  from  their  winter  food  and  fed  with  grass. . It  is  very  apt 
to  appear  also  when  they  are  suckling  their  young.  But  this  disease  is  not 
to  be  considered  as  similar  in  any  respect  to  that  of  which  I am  treating, 
as  it  is  incapable  of  producing  any  specific  effects  on  the  human  constitution. 
However,  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence  to  point  it  out  here,  lest  the 
want  of  discrimination  should  occasion  an  idea  of  security  from  the  infec* 
tion  of  the  smallpox,  which  might  prove  delusive. 


156 


EDWARD  JENNER 


began  to  have  sore  heels,  which  Merret  frequently  attended. 
The  cows  soon  became  affected  with  the  cow-pox,  and  soon 
after  several  sores  appeared  on  his  hands.  Swellings  and 
stiffness  in  each  axilla  followed,  and  he  was  so  much  indis- 
posed for  several  days  as  to  be  incapable  of  pursuing  his 
ordinary  employment.  Previously  to  the  appearance  of  the 
distemper  among  the  cows  there  was  no  fresh  cow  brought 
into  the  farm,  nor  any  servant  employed  who  was  affected 
with  the  cow-pox. 

In  April,  1795,  a general  inoculation  taking  place  here, 
Merret  was  inoculated  with  his  family;  so  that  a period  of 
twenty-five  years  had  elapsed  from  his  having  the  cow-pox 
to  this  time.  However,  though  the  variolous  matter  was 
repeatedly  inserted  into  his  arm,  I found  it  impracticable  to 
infect  him  with  it ; an  efflorescence  only,  taking  on  an  erysip- 
elatous look  about  the  centre,  appearing  on  the  skin  near  the 
punctured  parts.  During  the  whole  time  that  his  family  had 
the  smallpox,  one  of  whom  had  it  very  full,  he  remained  in 
the  house  with  them,  but  received  no  injury  from  exposure 
to  the  contagion. 

It  is  necessary  to  observe  that  the  utmost  care  was  taken 
to  ascertain,  with  the  most  scrupulous  precision,  that  no  one 
whose  case  is  here  adduced  had  gone  through  the  smallpox 
previous  to  these  attempts  to  produce  that  disease. 

Had  these  experiments  been  conducted  in  a large  city,  or 
in  a populous  neighbourhood,  some  doubts  might  have  been 
entertained;  but  here,  where  population  is  thin,  and  where 
such  an  event  as  a person’s  having  had  the  smallpox  is 
always  faithfully  recorded,  no  risk  of  inaccuracy  in  this 
particular  can  arise 

Case  II. — Sarah  Portlock,  of  this  place,  was  infected  with 
the  cow-pox  when  a servant  at  a farmer’s  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, twenty-seven  years  ago.6 

In  the  year  1792,  conceiving  herself,  from  this  circum- 
stance, secure  from  the  infection  of  the  smallpox,  she  nursed 
one  of  her  own  children  who  had  accidentally  caught  the 

5 I have  purposely  selected  several  cases  in  which  the  disease  had  appeared 
at  a very  distant  period  nrevious  to  the  experiments . made  with  variolous 
matter,  to  shew  that  the  change  produced  in  the  constitution  is  not  affected 
by  time. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


157 


disease,  but  no  indisposition  ensued.  During  the  time  she 
remained  in  the  infected  room,  variolous  matter  was  inserted 
into  both  her  arms,  but  without  any  further  effect  than  in 
the  preceding  case. 

Case  III. — John  Phillips,  a tradesman  of  this  town,  had 
the  cow-pox  at  so  early  a period  as  nine  years  of  age.  At 
the  age  of  sixty-two  I inoculated  him,  and  was  very  careful 
in  selecting  matter  in  its  most  active  state.  It  was  taken 
from  the  arm  of  a boy  just  before  the  commencement  of  the 
eruptive  fever,  and  instantly  inserted.  It  very  speedily  pro- 
duced a sting-like  feel  in  the  part.  An  efflorescence  appear- 
ed, which  on  the  fourth  day  was  rather  extensive,  and  some 
degree  of  pain  and  stiffness  were  felt  about  the  shoulder;  but 
on  the  fifth  day  these  symptoms  began  to  disappear,  and  in 
a day  or  two  after  went  entirely  off,  without  producing  any 
effect  on  the  system. 

Case  IV. — Mary  Barge,  of  Woodford,  in  this  parish,  was 
inoculated  with  variolous  matter  in  the  year  1791.  An 
efflorescence  of  a palish  red  colour  soon  appeared  about  the 
parts  where  the  matter  was  inserted,  and  spread  itself  rather 
extensively,  but  died  away  in  a few  days  without  producing 
any  variolous  symptoms.6  She  has  since  been  repeatedly 
employed  as  a nurse  to  smallpox  patients,  without  expe- 
riencing any  ill  consequences.  This  woman  had  the  cow- 
pox  when  she  lived  in  the  service  of  a farmer  in  this  parish 
thirty-one  years  before. 

Case  V. — Mrs.  H , a respectable  gentlewoman  of  this 

town,  had  the  cow-pox  when  very  young.  She  received  the 
infection  in  rather  an  uncommon  manner ; it  was  given  by 
means  of  her  handling  some  of  the  same  utensils7  which 

• It  is  remarkable  that  variolous  matter,  when  the  system  is  disposed  to 
reject  it,  should  excite  inflammation  on  the  part  to  which  it  is  applied  more 
speedily  than  when  it  produces  the  smallpox.  Indeed,  it  becomes  almost 
a criterion  by  which  we  can  determine  whether  the  infection  will  be  received 
ar  not.  It  seems  as  if  a change,  which  endures  through  life,  had  been  pro- 
Juced  in  the  action,  or  disposition  to  action,  in  the  vessels  of  the  skin;  and 
it  is  remarkable,  too,  that  whether  this  change  has  been  effected  by  the 
smallpox  or  the  cow-pox  that  the  disposition  to  sudden  cuticular  inflamma- 
tion is  the  same  on  the  application  of  variolous  matter. 

7 When  the  cow-pox  has  prevailed  in  the  dairy,  it  has  often  been  communi- 
cated to  those  who  have  not  milked  the  cows,  by  the  handle  of  the  milk  pail. 


158 


EDWARD  JENNER 


were  in  use  among  the  servants  of  the  family,  who  had  the 
disease  from  milking  infected  cows.  Her  hands  had  many 
of  the  cow-pox  sores  upon  them,  and  they  were  communi- 
cated to  her  nose,  which  became  inflamed  and  very  much 

swollen.  Soon  after  this  event  Mrs.  H was  exposed  to 

the  contagion  of  the  smallpox,  where  it  was  scarcely  pos- 
sible for  her  to  have  escaped,  had  she  been  susceptible  of  it, 
as  she  regularly  attended  a relative  who  had  the  disease  in 
so  violent  a degree  that  it  proved  fatal  to  him. 

In  the  year  1778  the  smallpox  prevailed  very  much  at 

Berkeley,  and  Mrs.  H , not  feeling  perfectly  satisfied 

respecting  her  safety  (no  indisposition  having  followed  her 
exposure  to  the  smallpox),  I inoculated  her  with  active 
variolous  matter.  The  same  appearance  followed  as  in  the 
preceding  cases — an  efflorescence  on  the  arm  without  any 
effect  on  the  constitution. 

Case  VI. — It  is  a fact  so  well  known  among  our  dairy 
farmers  that  those  who  have  had  the  smallpox  either  escape 
the  cow-pox  or  are  disposed  to  have  it  slightly,  that  as  soon 
as  the  complaint  shews  itself  among  the  cattle,  assistants  are 
procured,  if  possible,  who  are  thus  rendered  less  susceptible 
of  it,  otherwise  the  business  of  the  farm  could  scarcely  go 
forward. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1796,  the  cow-pox  broke  out  at  Mr. 
Baker’s,  a farmer  who  lives  near  this  place.  The  disease 
was  communicated  by  means  of  a cow  which  was  purchased 
in  an  infected  state  at  a neighbouring  fair,  and  not  one  of 
the  farmer’s  cows  (consisting  of  thirty)  which  were  at  that 
time  milked  escaped  the  contagion.  The  family  consisted  of 
a man  servant,  two  dairymaids,  and  a servant  boy,  who,  with 
the  farmer  himself,  were  twice  a day  employed  in  milking 
the  cattle.  The  whole  of  this  family,  except  Sarah  Wynne, 
one  of  the  dairymaids,  had  gone  through  the  smallpox.  The 
consequence  was  that  the  farmer  and  the  servant  boy  escaped 
the  infection  of  the  cow-pox  entirely,  and  the  servant  man 
and  one  of  the  maid  servants  had  each  of  them  nothing 
more  then  a sore  on  one  of  their  fingers,  which  produced 
no  disorder  in  the  system.  But  the  other  dairymaid,  Sarah 
Wynne,  who  never  had  the  smallpox,  did  not  escape  in  so 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


159 


easy  a manner.  She  caught  the  complaint  from  the  cows, 
and  was  affected  with  the  symptoms  described  on  page 
154  in  so  violent  a degree  that  she  was  confined  to  her  bed, 
and  rendered  incapable  for  several  days  of  pursuing  her 
ordinary  vocations  in  the  farm. 

March  28,  1797,  I inoculated  this  girl  and  carefully  rubbed 
the  variolous  matter  into  two  slight  incisions  made  upon  the 
left  arm.  A little  inflammation  appeared  in  the  usual  man- 
ner around  the  parts  where  the  matter  was  inserted,  but  so 
early  as  the  fifth  day  it  vanished  entirely  without  producing 
any  effect  on  the  system. 

Case  VII. — Although  the  preceding  history  pretty  clearly 
evinces  that  the  constitution  is  far  less  susceptible  of  the 
contagion  of  the  cow-pox  after  it  has  felt  that  of  the  small- 
pox, and  although  in  general,  as  I have  observed,  they  who 
have  had  the  smallpox,  and  are  employed  in  milking  cows 
which  are  infected  with  the  cow-pox,  either  escape  the  dis- 
order, or  have  sores  on  the  hands  without  feeling  any  gen- 
eral indisposition,  yet  the  animal  economy  is  subject  to  some 
variation  in  this  respect,  which  the  following  relation  will 
point  out: 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1796  the  cow-pox  appeared  at 
the  farm  of  Mr.  Andrews,  a considerable  dairy  adjoining  to 
the  town  of  Berkeley.  It  was  communicated,  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding instance,  by  an  infected  cow  purchased  at  a fair  in 
the  neighbourhood.  The  family  consisted  of  the  farmer,  his 
wife,  two  sons,  a man  and  a maid  servant;  all  of  whom, 
except  the  farmer  (who  was  fearful  of  the  consequences), 
bore  a part  in  milking  the  cows.  The  whole  of  them,  exclu- 
sive of  the  man  servant,  had  regularly  gone  through  the 
smallpox ; but  in  this  case  no  one  who  milked  the  cows 
escaped  the  contagion.  All  of  them  had  sores  upon  their 
hands,  and  some  degree  of  general  indisposition,  preceded 
by  pains  and  tumours  in  the  axillae:  but  there  was  no  com- 
parison in  the  severity  of  the  disease  as  it  was  felt  by  the 
servant  man,  who  had  escaped  the  smallpox,  and  by  those  of 
the  family  who  had  not,  for,  while  he  was  confined  to  his 
bed,  they  were  able,  without  much  inconvenience,  to  follow 
their  ordinary  business. 


160 


EDWARD  JENNER 


February  the  13th,  1797,  I availed  myself  of  an  opportu- 
nity of  inoculating  William  Rodway,  the  servant  man  above 
alluded  to.  Variolous  matter  was  inserted  into  both  his 
arms:  in  the  right,  by  means  of  superficial  incisions,  and  into 
the  left  by  slight  punctures  into  the  cutis.  Both  were  per- 
ceptibly inflamed  on  the  third  day.  After  this  the  inflam- 
mation about  the  punctures  soon  died  away,  but  a small 
appearance  of  erysipelas  was  manifest  about  the  edges  of 
the  incisions  till  the  eighth  day,  when  a little  uneasiness 
was  felt  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour  in  the  right  axilla. 
The  inflammation  then  hastily  disappeared  without  produc- 
ing the  most  distant  mark  of  affection  of  the  system. 

Case  VIII. — Elizabeth  Wynne,  aged  fifty-seven,  lived  as 
a servant  with  a neighbouring  farmer  thirty-eight  years  ago. 
She  was  then  a dairymaid,  and  the  cow-pox  broke  out  among 
the  cows.  She  caught  the  disease  with  the  rest  of  the  family, 
but,  compared  with  them,  had  it  in  a very  slight  degree,  one 
very  small  sore  only  breaking  out  on  the  little  finger  of  her 
left  hand,  and  scarcely  any  perceptible  indisposition  follow- 
ing it. 

As  the  malady  had  shewn  itself  in  so  slight  a manner, 
and  as  it  had  taken  place  at  so  distant  a period  of  her  life, 
I was  happy  with  the  opportunity  of  trying  the  effects  of 
variolous  matter  upon  her  constitution,  and  on  the  28th  of 
March,  1797,  I inoculated  her  by  making  two  superficial 
incisions  on  the  left  arm,  on  which  the  matter  was  cautiously 
rubbed.  A little  efflorescence  soon  appeared,  and  a tingling 
sensation  was  felt  about  the  parts  where  the  matter  was 
inserted  until  the  third  day,  when  both  began  to  subside,  and 
so  early  as  the  fifth  day  it  was  evident  that  no  indisposition 
would  follow. 

Case  IX. — Although  the  cow-pox  shields  the  constitution 
from  the  smallpox,  and  the  smallpox  proves  a protection 
against  its  own  future  poison,  yet  it  appears  that  the  human 
body  is  again  and  again  susceptible  of  the  infectious  matter 
of  the  cow-pox,  as  the  following  history  will  demonstrate. 

William  Smith,  of  Pyrton  in  this  parish,  contracted  this 
disease  when  he  lived  with  a neighbouring  farmer  in  the 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


161 


year  1780.  One  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  farm  had 
sore  heels,  and  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  attend  him.  By  these 
means  the  infection  was  carried  to  the  cows,  and  from  the 
cows  it  was  communicated  to  Smith.  On  one  of  his  hands 
were  several  ulcerated  sores,  and  he  was  affected  with  such 
symptoms  as  have  been  before  described. 

In  the  year  1791  the  cow-pox  broke  out  at  another  farm 
where  he  then  lived  as  a servant,  and  he  became  affected  with 
it  a second  time;  and  in  the  year  1794  he  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  catch  it  again.  The  disease  was  equally  as  severe  the 
second  and  third  time  as  it  was  on  the  first.8 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1795  he  was  twice  inoculated, 
but  no  affection  of  the  system  could  be  produced  from  the 
variolous  matter ; and  he  has  since  associated  with  those  who 
had  the  smallpox  in  its  most  contagious  state  without  feeling 
any  effect  from  it. 

Case  X. — Simon  Nichols  lived  as  a servant  with  Mr. 
Bromedge,  a gentleman  who  resides  on  his  own  farm  in  this 
parish,  in  the  year  1782.  He  was  employed  in  applying 
dressings  to  the  sore  heels  of  one  of  his  master’s  horses, 
and  at  the  same  time  assisted  in  milking  the  cows.  The  cows 
became  affected  in  consequence,  but  the  disease  did  not  shew 
itself  on  their  nipples  till  several  weeks  after  he  had  begun 
to  dress  the  horse.  He  quitted  Mr.  Bromedge’s  service,  and 
went  to  another  farm  without  any  sores  upon  him;  but  here 
his  hands  soon  began  to  be  affected  in  the  common  way,  and 
he  was  much  indisposed  with  the  usual  symptoms.  Con- 
cealing the  nature  of  the  malady  from  Mr.  Cole,  his  new 
master,  and  being  there  also  employed  in  milking,  the  cow- 
pox  was  communicated  to  the  cows. 

Some  years  afterward  Nichols  was  employed  in  a farm 
where  the  smallpox  broke  out,  when  I inoculated  him  with 
several  other  patients,  with  whom  he  continued  during  the 
whole  time  of  their  confinement.  His  arm  inflamed,  but 
neither  the  inflammation  nor  his  associating  with  the  in- 
oculated family  produced  the  least  effect  upon  his  con- 
stitution. 

8 This  is  not  the  case  in  general — a second  attack  is  commonly  very  slight, 
and  so,  I am  informed,  it  is  among  the  cows. 

C6)  HC  XXXVIII 


162 


EDWARD  JENNER 


Case  XI. — William  Stinchcomb  was  a fellow  servant  with 
Nichols  at  Mr.  Bromedge’s  farm  at  the  time  the  cattle  had 
the  cow-pox,  and  he  was,  unfortunately,  infected  by  them. 
His  left  hand  was  very  severely  affected  with  several  cor- 
roding ulcers,  and  a tumour  of  considerable  size  appeared  in 
the  axilla  of  that  side.  His  right  hand  had  only  one  small 
tumour  upon  it,  and  no  sore  discovered  itself  in  the  corre- 
sponding axilla. 

In  the  year  1792  Stinchcomb  was  inoculated  with  variolous 
matter,  but  no  consequences  ensued  beyond  a little  inflam- 
mation in  the  arm  for  a few  days.  A large  party  were  in- 
oculated at  the  same  time,  some  of  whom  had  the  disease 
in  a more  violent  degree  than  is  commonly  seen  from  inocu- 
lation. He  purposely  associated  with  them,  but  could  not 
receive  the  smallpox. 

During  the  sickening  of  some  of  his  companions  their 
symptoms  so  strongly  recalled  to  his  mind  his  own  state 
when  sickening  with  the  cow-pox  that  he  very  pertinently 
remarked  their  striking  similarity. 

Case  XII. — The  paupers  of  the  village  of  Tortworth,  in 
this  county,  were  inoculated  by  Mr.  Henry  Jenner,  Surgeon, 
of  Berkeley,  in  the  year  1795.  Among  them,  eight  patients 
presented  themselves  who  had  at  different  periods  of  their 
lives  had  the  cow-pox.  One  of  them,  Hester  Walkley,  I 
attended  with  that  disease  when  she  lived  in  the  service  of  a 
farmer  in  the  same  village  in  the  year  1782 ; but  neither  this 
woman,  nor  any  other  of  the  patients  who  had  gone  through 
the  cow-pox,  received  the  variolous  infection  either  from 
the  arm  or  from  mixing  in  the  society  of  the  other  patients 
who  were  inoculated  at  the  same  time.  This  state  of  security 
proved  a fortunate  circumstance,  as  many  of  the  poor  women 
were  at  the  same  time  in  a state  of  pregnancy. 

Case  XIII. — One  instance  has  occurred  to  me  of  the 
system  being  affected  from  the  matter  issuing  from  the 
heels  of  horses,  and  of  its  remaining  afterwards  unsuscep- 
tible of  the  variolous  contagion;  another,  where  the  small- 
pox appeared  obscurely;  and  a third,  in  which  its  complete 
existence  was  positively  ascertained. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


163 


First,  Thomas  Pearce  is  the  son  of  a smith  and  farrier 
near  to  this  place.  He  never  had  the  cow-pox;  but,  in  con- 
sequence of  dressing  horses  with  sore  heels  at  his  father’s, 
when  a lad,  he  had  sores  on  his  fingers  which  suppurated, 
and  which  occasioned  a pretty  severe  indisposition.  Six 
years  afterwards  I inserted  variolous  matter  into  his  arm 
repeatedly,  without  being  able  to  produce  any  thing  more 
than  slight  inflammation,  which  appeared  very  soon  after 
the  matter  was  applied,  and  afterwards  I exposed  him  to 
the  contagion  of  the  smallpox  with  as  little  effect.8 

Case  XIV. — Secondly,  Mr.  James  Cole,  a farmer  in  this 
parish,  had  a disease  from  the  same  source  as  related  in  the 
preceding  case,  and  some  years  after  was  inoculated  with 
variolous  matter.  He  had  a little  pain  in  the  axilla  and  felt 
a slight  indisposition  for  three  or  four  hours.  A few  erup- 
tions shewed  themselves  on  the  forehead,  but  they  very  soon 
disappeared  without  advancing  to  maturation. 

Case  XV. — Although  in  the  former  instances  the  system 
seemed  to  be  secured,  or  nearly  so,  from  variolous  infection, 
by  the  absorption  of  matter  from  the  sores  produced  by  the 
diseased  heels  of  horses,  yet  the  following  case  decisively 
proves  that  this  cannot  be  entirely  relied  upon  until  a disease 
has  been  generated  by  the  morbid  matter  from  the  horse  on 
the  nipple  of  the  cow,  and  passed  through  that  medium  to 
the  human  subject. 

Mr.  Abraham  Riddiford,  a farmer  at  Stone  in  this  parish, 
in  consequence  of  dressing  a mare  that  had  sore  heels,  was 
affected  with  very  painful  sores  in  both  his  hands,  tumours 
in  each  axilla,  and  severe  and  general  indisposition.  A sur- 
geon in  the  neighbourhood  attended  him,  who  knowing  the 
similarity  between  the  appearance  of  the  sores  upon  his 
hands  and  those  produced  by  the  cow-pox,  and  being 
acquainted  also  with  the  effects  of  that  disease  on  the  human 
constitution,  assured  him  that  he  never  need  to  fear  the  in- 
fection of  the  smallpox;  but  this  assertion  proved  fallacious, 

® It  is  a remarkable  fact,  and  well  known  to  many,  that  we  are  frequently 
foiled  in  our  endeavours  to  communicate  the  smallpox  by  inoculation  to 
blacksmiths,  who  in  the  country  are  farriers.  They  often,  as  in  the  above 
instance,  either  resist  the  contagion  entirely,  or  have  the  disease  anoma- 
lously. Shall  we  not  be  able  to  account  for  this  on  a rational  principle? 


164 


EDWARD  JENNER 


for,  on  being  exposed  to  the  infection  upwards  of  twenty 
years  afterwards,  he  caught  the  disease,  which  took  its 
regular  course  in  a very  mild  way.  There  certainly  was  a 
difference  perceptible,  although  it  is  not  easy  to  describe  it, 
in  the  general  appearance  of  the  pustules  from  that  which 
we  commonly  see.  Other  practitioners  who  visited  the 
patient  at  my  request  agreed  with  me  in  this  point,  though 
there  was  no  room  left  for  suspicion  as  to  the  reality  of  the 
disease,  as  I inoculated  some  of  his  family  from  the  pustules, 
who  had  the  smallpox,  with  its  usual  appearances,  in  conse- 
quence. 

Case  XVI. — Sarah  Nelmes,  a dairymaid  at  a farmer’s 
near  this  place,  was  infected  with  the  cow-pox  from  her 
master’s  cows  in  May,  1796.  She  received  the  infection  on 
a part  of  her  hand  which  had  been  previously  in  a slight 
degree  injured  by  a scratch  from  a thorn.  A large  pustulous 
sore  and  the  usual  symptoms  accompanying  the  disease  were 
produced  in  consequence.  The  pustule  was  so  expressive  of 
the  true  character  of  the  cow-pox,  as  it  commonly  appears 
upon  the  hand,  that  I have  given  a representation  of  it  in 
the  annexed  plate.  The  two  small  pustules  on  the  wrists 
arose  also  from  the  application  of  the  virus  to  some  minute 
abrasions  of  the  cuticle,  but  the  livid  tint,  if  they  ever  had 
any,  was  not  conspicuous  at  the  time  I saw  the  patient.  The 
pustule  on  the  forefinger  shews  the  disease  in  an  earlier 
stage.  It  did  not  actually  appear  on  the  hand  of  this  young 
woman,  but  was  taken  from  that  of  another,  and  is  annexed 
for  the  purpose  of  representing  the  malady  after  it  has  newly 
appeared. 

Case  XVII. — The  more  accurately  to  observe  the  progress 
of  the  infection  I selected  a healthy  boy,  about  eight  years 
old,  for  the  purpose  of  inoculation  for  the  cow-pox.  The 
matter  was  taken  from  a sore  on  the  hand  of  a dairymaid,10 
who  was  infected  by  her  master’s  cows,  and  it  was  inserted, 
on  the  14th  of  May,  1796,  into  the  arm  of  the  boy  by  means 
of  two  superficial  incisions,  barely  penetrating  the  cutis,  each 
about  half  an  inch  long. 

10  From  the  sore  on  the  hand  of  Sarah  Nelmes.  See  the  preceding  case. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


165 


On  the  seventh  day  he  complained  of  uneasiness  in  the 
axilla,  and  on  the  ninth  he  became  a little  chilly,  lost  his 
appetite,  and  had  a slight  headache.  During  the  whole  of 
this  day  he  was  perceptibly  indisposed,  and  spent  the  night 
with  some  degree  of  restlessness,  but  on  the  day  following 
he  was  perfectly  well. 

The  appearance  of  the  incisions  in  their  progress  to  a 
state  of  maturation  were  much  the  same  as  when  produced 
in  a similar  manner  by  variolous  matter.  The  only  difference 
which  I perceived  was  in  the  state  of  the  limpid  fluid  arising 
from  the  action  of  the  virus,  which  assumed  rather  a darker 
hue,  and  in  that  of  the  efflorescence  spreading  round  the  in- 
cisions, which  had  more  of  an  erysipelatous  look  than  we 
commonly  perceive  when  variolous  matter  has  been  made 
use  of  in  the  same  manner;  but  the  whole  died  away  (leaving 
on  the  inoculated  parts  scabs  and  subsequent  eschars)  with- 
out giving  me  or  my  patient  the  least  trouble. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  boy,  after  feeling  so 
slight  an  affection  of  the  system  from  the  cow-pox  virus,  was 
secure  from  the  contagion  of  the  smallpox,  he  was  inoculated 
the  ist  of  July  following  with  variolous  matter,  immediately 
taken  from  a pustule.  Several  slight  punctures  and  incisions 
were  made  on  both  his  arms,  and  the  matter  was  carefully 
inserted,  but  no  disease  followed.  The  same  appearances 
were  observable  on  the  arms  as  we  commonly  see  when  a 
patient  has  had  variolous  matter  applied,  after  having  either 
the  cow-pox  or  smallpox.  Several  months  afterwards  he 
was  again  inoculated  with  variolous  matter,  but  no  sensible 
effect  was  produced  on  the  constitution. 

Here  my  researches  were  interrupted  till  the  spring  of 
the  year  1798,  when,  from  the  wetness  of  the  early  part  of 
the  season,  many  of  the  farmers’  horses  in  this  neighbour- 
hood were  affected  with  sore  heels,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  cow-pox  broke  out  among  several  of  our  dairies,  which 
afforded  me  an  opportunity  of  making  further  observations 
upon  this  curious  disease. 

A mare,  the  property  of  a person  who  keeps  a dairy  in  a 
neighbouring  parish,  began  to  have  sore  heels  the  latter  end 
of  the  month  of  February,  1798,  which  were  occasionally 
washed  by  the  servant  men  of  the  farm,  Thomas  Virgoe, 


166 


EDWARD  JENNER 


William  Wherret,  and  William  Haynes,  who  in  consequence 
became  affected  with  sores  in  their  hands,  followed  by  in- 
flamed lymphatic  glands  in  the  arms  and  axillae,  shiverings 
succeeded  by  heat,  lassitude,  and  general  pains  in  the  limbs. 
A single  paroxysm  terminated  the  disease ; for  within 
twenty-four  hours  they  were  free  from  general  indisposi- 
tion, nothing  remaining  but  the  sores  on  their  hands.  Haynes 
and  Virgoe,  who  had  gone  through  the  smallpox  from  inocu- 
lation, described  their  feelings  as  very  similar  to  those  which 
affected  them  on  sickening  with  that  malady.  Wherret  never 
had  had  the  smallpox.  Haynes  was  daily  employed  as  one 
of  the  milkers  at  the  farm,  and  the  disease  began  to  shew 
itself  among  the  cows  about  ten  days  after  he  first  assisted 
in  washing  the  mare’s  heels.  Their  nipples  became  sore  in 
the  usual  way,  with  bluish  pustules;  but  as  remedies  were 
early  applied,  they  did  not  ulcerate  to  any  extent. 

Case  XVIII. — John  Baker,  a child  of  five  years  old,  was 
inoculated  March  16,  1798,  with  matter  taken  from  a pustule 
on  the  hand  of  Thomas  Virgoe,  one  of  the  servants  who  had 
been  infected  from  the  mare’s  heels.  He  became  ill  on  the 
sixth  day  with  symptoms  similar  to  those  excited  by  cow- 
pox  matter.  On  the  eighth  day  he  was  free  from  indispo- 
sition. 

There  was  some  variation  in  the  appearance  of  the  pustule 
on  the  arm.  Although  it  somewhat  resembled  a smallpox 
pustule,  yet  its  similitude  was  not  so  conspicuous  as  when 
excited  by  matter  from  the  nipple  of  the  cow,  or  when  the 
matter  has  passed  from  thence  through  the  medium  of  the 
human  subject. 

This  experiment  was  made  to  ascertain  the  progress  and 
subsequent  effects  of  the  disease  when  thus  propagated.  We 
have  seen  that  the  virus  from  the  horse,  when  it  proves  in- 
fectious to  the  human  subject,  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  as 
rendering  the  system  secure  from  variolous  infection,  but 
that  the  matter  produced  by  it  upon  the  nipple  of  the  cow  is 
perfectly  so.  Whether  its  passing  from  the  horse  through 
the  human  constitution,  as  in  the  present  instance,  will  pro- 
duce a similar  effect,  remains  to  be  decided.  This  would 
now  have  been  effected,  but  the  boy  was  rendered  unfit  for 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX  167 

inoculation  from  having  felt  the  effects  of  a contagious  fever 
in  a workhouse  soon  after  this  experiment  was  made. 

Case  XIX. — William  Summers,  a child  of  five  years  and 
a half  old,  was  inoculated  the  same  day  with  Baker,  with 
matter  taken  from  the  nipples  of  one  of  the  infected  cows, 
at  the  farm  alluded  to.  He  became  indisposed  on  the  sixth 
day,  vomited  once,  and  felt  the  usual  slight  symptoms  till 
the  eighth  day,  when  he  appeared  perfectly  well.  The  prog- 
ress of  the  pustule,  formed  by  the  infection  of  the  virus,  was 
similar  to  that  noticed  in  Case  XVII,  with  this  exception, 
its  being  free  from  the  livid  tint  observed  in  that  instance. 

Case  XX. — From  William  Summers  the  disease  was  trans- 
ferred to  William  Pead,  a boy  of  eight  years  old,  who  was 
inoculated  March  28th.  On  the  sixth  day  he  complained  of 
pain  in  the  axilla,  and  on  the  seventh  was  affected  with  the 
common  symptoms  of  a patient  sickening  with  the  smallpox 
from  inoculation,  which  did  not  terminate  till  the  third  day 
after  the  seizure.  So  perfect  was  the  similarity  to  the  vari- 
olous fever  that  I was  induced  to  examine  the  skin,  con- 
ceiving there  might  have  been  some  eruptions,  but  none 
appeared.  The  efflorescent  blush  around  the  part  punctured 
in  the  boy’s  arm  was  so  truly  characteristic  of  that  which 
appears  on  variolous  inoculation  that  I have  given  a repre- 
sentation of  it.  The  drawing  was  made  when  the  pustule 
was  beginning  to  die  away  and  the  areola  retiring  from  the 
centre. 

Case  XXI. — April  5th : Several  children  and  adults  were 
inoculated  from  the  arm  of  William  Pead.  The  greater  part 
of  them  sickened  on  the  sixth  day,  and  were  well  on  the 
seventh,  but  in  three  of  the  number  a secondary  indisposition 
arose  in  consequence  of  an  extensive  erysipelatous  inflamma- 
tion which  appeared  on  the  inoculated  arms.  It  seemed  to 
arise  from  the  state  of  the  pustule,  which  spread  out,  accom- 
panied with  some  degree  of  pain,  to  about  half  the  diameter 
of  a sixpence.  One  of  these  patients  was  an  infant  of  half 
a year  old.  By  the  application  of  mercurial  ointment  to  the 
inflamed  parts  (a  treatment  recommended  under  similar  cir- 


168 


EDWARD  JENNER 


cumstances  in  the  inoculated  smallpox)  the  complaint  sub- 
sided without  giving  much  trouble. 

Hannah  Excell,  an  healthy  girl  of  seven  years  old,  and 
one  of  the  patients  above  mentioned,  received  the  infection 
from  the  insertion  of  the  virus  under  the  cuticle  of  the  arm 
in  three  distinct  points.  The  pustules  which  arose  in  con- 
sequence so  much  resembled,  on  the  twelfth  day,  those 
appearing  from  the  infection  of  variolous  matter,  that  an 
experienced  inoculator  would  scarcely  have  discovered  a 
shade  of  difference  at  that  period.  Experience  now  tells  me 
that  almost  the  only  variation  which  follows  consists  in  the 
pustulous  fluids  remaining  limpid  nearly  to  the  time  of  its 
total  disappearance;  and  not,  as  in  the  direct  smallpox,  be- 
coming purulent. 

Case  XXIL — From  the  arm  of  this  girl  matter  was  taken 
and  inserted  April  12th  into  the  arms  of  John  Macklove,  one 
year  and  a half  old,  Robert  F.  Jenner,  eleven  months  old, 
Mary  Pead,  five  years  old,  and  Mary  James,  six  years  old. 

Among  these,  Robert  F.  Jenner  did  not  receive  the  in- 
fection. The  arms  of  the  other  three  inflamed  properly  and 
began  to  affect  the  system  in  the  usual  manner;  but  being 
under  some  apprehensions  from  the  preceding  cases  that  a 
troublesome  erysipelas  might  arise,  I determined  on  making 
an  experiment  with  the  view  of  cutting  off  its  source. 
Accordingly,  after  the  patients  had  felt  an  indisposition  of 
about  twelve  hours,  I applied  in  two  of  these  cases  out  of 
the  three,  on  the  vesicle  formed  by  the  virus,  a little  mild 
caustic,  composed  of  equal  parts  of  quick-lime  and  soap,  and 
suffered  it  to  remain  on  the  part  six  hours.11  It  seemed  to 
give  the  children  but  little  uneasiness,  and  effectually  answer- 
ed my  intention  in  preventing  the  appearance  of  erysipelas. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  to  do  more,  for  in  half  an  hour  after  its 
application  the  indisposition  of  the  children  ceased.12  These 
precautions  were  perhaps  unnecessary,  as  the  arm  of  the 
third  child,  Mary  Pead,  which  was  suffered  to  take  its  com- 
mon course,  scabbed  quickly,  without  any  erysipelas. 

u Perhaps  a few  touches  with  the  lapis  septicus  would  have  proved 
equally  efficacious. 

12  What  effect  would  a similar  treatment  produce  in  inoculation  for  the 
smallpox  ? 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


169 


Case  XXIII.— From  this  child’s  arm  matter  was  taken 
and  transferred  to  that  of  J.  Barge,  a boy  of  seven  years  old. 
He  sickened  on  the  eighth  day,  went  through  the  disease 
with  the  usual  slight  symptoms,  and  without  any  inflamma- 
tion on  the  arm  beyond  the  common  efflorescence  surround- 
ing the  pustule,  an  appearance  so  often  seen  in  inoculated 
smallpox. 

After  the  many  fruitless  attempts  to  give  the  smallpox  to 
those  who  had  had  the  cow-pox,  it  did  not  appear  necessary, 
nor  was  it  convenient  to  me,  to  inoculate  the  whole  of  those 
who  had  been  the  subjects  of  these  late  trials;  yet  I thought 
it  right  to  see  the  effects  of  variolous  matter  on  some  of 
them,  particularly  William  Summers,  the  first  of  these 
patients  who  had  been  infected  with  matter  taken  from  the 
cow.  He  was,  therefore,  inoculated  with  variolous  matter 
from  a fresh  pustule;  but,  as  in  the  preceding  cases,  the 
system  did  not  feel  the  effects  of  it  in  the  smallest  degree. 
I had  an  opportunity  also  of  having  this  boy  and  William 
Pead  inoculated  by  my  nephew,  Mr.  Henry  Jenner,  whose 
report  to  me  is  as  follows : “ I have  inoculated  Pead  and 

Barge,  two  of  the  boys  whom  you  lately  infected  with  the 
cow-pox.  On  the  second  day  the  incisions  were  inflamed  and 
there  was  a pale  inflammatory  stain  around  them.  On  the 
third  day  these  appearances  were  still  increasing  and  their 
arms  itched  considerably.  On  the  fourth  day  the  inflam- 
mation was  evidently  subsiding,  and  on  the  sixth  day  it 
was  scarcely  perceptible.  No  symptom  of  indisposition 
followed. 

“To  convince  myself  that  the  variolous  matter  made  use 
of  was  in  a perfect  state  I at  the  same  time  inoculated  a 
patient  with  some  of  it  who  never  had  gone  through  the  cow- 
pox,  and  it  produced  the  smallpox  in  the  usual  regular  man- 
ner.” 

These  experiments  afforded  me  much  satisfaction ; they 
proved  that  the  matter,  in  passing  from  one  human  subject  to 
another,  through  five  gradations,  lost  none  of  its  original 
properties,  J.  Barge  being  the  fifth  who  received  the  infection 
successively  from  William  Summers,  the  boy  to  whom  it  was 
communicated  from  the  cow. 


170 


EDWARD  JENNER 


I shall  now  conclude  this  inquiry  with  some  general 
observations  on  the  subject,  and  on  some  others  which  are 
interwoven  with  it. 

Although  I presume  it  may  be  unnecessary  to  produce  fur- 
ther testimony  in  support  of  my  assertion  “that  the  cow-pox 
protects  the  human  constitution  from  the  infection  of  the 
smallpox,”  yet  it  affords  me  considerable  satisfaction  to  say 
that  Lord  Somerville,  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture, to  whom  this  paper  was  shewn  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
has  found  upon  inquiry  that  the  statements  were  confirmed 
by  the  concurring  testimony  of  Mr.  Dolland,  a surgeon,  who 
resides  in  a dairy  country  remote  from  this,  in  which  these 
observations  were  made.  With  respect  to  the  opinion  ad- 
duced “ that  the  source  of  the  infection  is  a peculiar  morbid 
matter  arising  in  the  horse,”  although  I have  not  been  able 
to  prove  it  from  actual  experiments  conducted  immediately 
under  my  own  eye,  yet  the  evidence  I have  adduced  appears 
sufficient  to  establish  it. 

They  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  conducting  experiments 
may  not  be  aware  of  the  coincidence  of  circumstances  neces- 
sary for  their  being  managed  so  as  to  prove  perfectly  deci- 
sive ; nor  how  often  men  engaged  in  professional  pursuits  are 
liable  to  interruptions  which  disappoint  them  almost  at  the 
instant  of  their  being  accomplished:  however,  I feel  no  room 
for  hesitation  respecting  the  common  origin  of  the  disease, 
being  well  convinced  that  it  never  appears  among  the  cows 
(except  it  can  be  traced  to  a cow  introduced  among  the 
general  herd  which  has  been  previously  infected,  or  to  an 
infected  servant)  unless  they  have  been  milked  by  some  one 
who,  at  the  same  time,  has  the  care  of  a horse  affected  with 
diseased  heels. 

The  spring  of  the  year  1797,  which  I intended  particularly 
to  have  devoted  to  the  completion  of  this  investigation, 
proved,  from  its  dryness,  remarkably  adverse  to  my  wishes; 
for  it  frequently  happens,  while  the  farmers’  horses  are  ex- 
posed to  the  cold  rains  which  fall  at  that  season,  that  their 
heels  become  diseased,  and  no  cow-pox  then  appeared  in  the 
neighbourhood.  , 

The  active  quality  of  the  virus  from  the  horses’  heels  is 
greatly  increased  after  it  has  acted  on  the  nipples  of  the 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


171 


cow,  as  it  rarely  happens  that  the  horse  affects  his  dresser 
with  sores,  and  as  rarely  that  a milkmaid  escapes  the  infec- 
tion when  she  milks  infected  cows.  It  is  most  active  at  the 
commencement  of  the  disease,  even  before  it  has  acquired 
a pus-like  appearance;  indeed,  I am  not  confident  whether 
this  property  in  the  matter  does  not  entirely  cease  as  soon  as 
it  is  secreted  in  the  form  of  pus.  I am  induced  to  think  it 
does  cease,13  and  that  it  is  the  thin,  darkish-looking  fluid  only, 
oozing  from  the  newly-formed  cracks  in  the  heels,  similar 
to  what  sometimes  appears  from  erysipelatous  blisters,  which 
gives  the  disease.  Nor  am  I certain  that  the  nipples  of  the 
cows  are  at  all  times  in  a state  to  receive  the  infection.  The 
appearance  of  the  disease  in  the  spring  and  the  early  part 
of  the  summer,  when  they  are  disposed  to  be  affected  with 
spontaneous  eruptions  so  much  more  frequently  than  at 
other  seasons,  induces  me  to  think  that  the  virus  from  the 
horse  must  be  received  upon  them  when  they  are  in  this 
state,  in  order  to  produce  effects : experiments,  however,  must 
determine  these  points.  But  it  is  clear  that  when  the  cow- 
pox  virus  is  once  generated,  that  the  cows  cannot  resist  the 
contagion,  in  whatever  state  their  nipples  may  chance  to  be, 
if  they  are  milked  with  an  infected  hand. 

Whether  the  matter,  either  from  the  cow  or  the  horse,  will 
affect  the  sound  skin  of  the  human  body,  I cannot  positively 
determine;  probably  it  will  not,  unless  on  those  parts  where 
the  cuticle  is  extremely  thin,  as  on  the  lips,  for  example.  1 
have  known  an  instance  of  a poor  girl  who  produced  an 
ulceration  on  her  lip  by  frequently  holding  her  finger  to  her 
mouth  to  cool  the  raging  of  a cow-pox  sore  by  blowing  upon 
it.  The  hands  of  the  farmers’  servants  here,  from  the  nature 
of  their  employments,  are  constantly  exposed  to  those  in- 
juries which  occasion  abrasions  of  the  cuticle,  to  punctures 
from  thorns,  and  such  like  accidents ; so  that  they  are  always 
in  a state  to  feel  the  consequence  of  exposure  to  infectious 
matter. 

It  is  singular  to  observe  that  the  cow-pox  virus,  although 

13  It  is  very  easy  to  procure  pus  from  old  sores  on  the  heels  of  horses. 
This  I have  often  inserted  into  scratches  made  with  a lancet,  on  the 
sound  nipples  of  cows,  and  have  seen  no  other  effects  from  it  than  simple 

inflammation. 


172 


EDWARD  JENNER 


it  renders  the  constitution  unsusceptible  of  the  variolous, 
should  nevertheless,  leave  it  unchanged  with  respect 
to  its  own  action.  I have  already  produced  an  instance 14 
to  point  out  this,  and  shall  now  corroborate  it  with 
another. 

Elizabeth  Wynne,  who  had  the  cow-pox  in  the  year  1759, 
was  inoculated  with  variolous  matter,  without  effect,  in  the 
year  1797,  and  again  caught  the  cow-pox  in  the  year  1798. 
When  I saw  her,  which  was  on  the  eighth  day  after  she  re- 
ceived the  infection,  I found  her  affected  with  general  lassi- 
tude, shiverings,  alternating  with  heat,  coldness  of  the  ex- 
tremities, and  a quick  and  irregular  pulse.  These  symptoms 
were  preceded  by  a pain  in  the  axilla.  On  her  hand  was 
one  large  pustulous  sore,  which  resembled  that  delineated  in 
Plate  No.  1.  (Plate  appears  in  original.) 

It  is  curious  also  to  observe  that  the  virus,  which  with 
respect  to  its  effects  is  undetermined  and  uncertain  previously 
to  its  passing  from  the  horse  through  the  medium  of  the 
cow,  should  then  not  only  become  more  active,  but  should 
invariably  and  completely  possess  those  specific  properties 
which  induce  in  the  human  constitution  symptoms  similar  to 
those  of  the  variolous  fever,  and  effect  in  it  that  peculiar 
change  which  for  ever  renders  it  unsusceptible  of  the  vario- 
lous contagion. 

May  it  not  then  be  reasonably  conjectured  that  the  source 
of  the  smallpox  is  morbid  matter  of  a peculiar  kind,  gener- 
ated by  a disease  in  the  horse,  and  that  accidental  circum- 
stances may  have  again  and  again  arisen,  still  working  new 
changes  upon  it  until  it  has  acquired  the  contagious  and 
malignant  form  under  which  we  now  commonly  see  it  making 
its  devastations  amongst  us?  And,  from  a consideration  of 
the  change  which  the  infectious  matter  undergoes  from  pro- 
ducing a disease  on  the  cow,  may  we  not  conceive  that  many 
contagious  diseases,  now  prevalent  among  us,  may  owe  their 
present  appearance  not  to  a simple,  but  to  a compound,  ori- 
gin? For  example,  is  it  difficult  to  imagine  that  the  measles, 
the  scarlet  fever,  and  the  ulcerous  sore  throat  with  a spotted 
skin  have  all  sprung  from  the  same  source,  assuming  some 
variety  in  their  forms  according  to  the  nature  of  their  new 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


173 


combinations?  The  same  question  will  apply  respecting  the 
origin  of  many  other  contagious  diseases  which  bear  a 
strong  analogy  to  each  other. 

There  are  certainly  more  forms  than  one,  without  consid- 
ering the  common  variation  between  the  confluent  and  dis- 
tinct, in  which  the  smallpox  appears  in  what  is  called  the 
natural  way.  About  seven  years  ago  a species  of  smallpox 
spread  through  many  of  the  towns  and  villages  of  this  part 
of  Gloucestershire:  it  was  of  so  mild  a nature  that  a fatal 
instance  was  scarcely  ever  heard  of,  and  consequently  so  little 
dreaded  by  the  lower  orders  of  the  community  that  they 
scrupled  not  to  hold  the  same  intercourse  with  each  other  as 
if  no  infectious  disease  had  been  present  among  them.  I 
never  saw  nor  heard  of  an  instance  of  its  being  confluent. 
The  most  accurate  manner,  perhaps,  in  which  I can  convey 
an  idea  of  it  is  by  saying  that  had  fifty  individuals  been  taken 
promiscuously  and  infected  by  exposure  to  this  contagion, 
they  would  have  had  as  mild  and  light  a disease  as  if  they 
had  been  inoculated  with  variolous  matter  in  the  usual  way. 
The  harmless  manner  in  which  it  shewed  itself  could  not 
arise  from  any  peculiarity  either  in  the  season  or  the  weather, 
for  I watched  its  progress  upwards  of  a year  without  per- 
ceiving any  variation  in  its  general  appearance.  I consider 
it  then  as  a variety  of  the  smallpox.15 

In  some  of  the  preceding  cases  I have  noticed  the  atten- 
tion that  was  paid  to  the  state  of  the  variolous  matter  pre- 
vious to  the  experiment  of  inserting  it  into  the  arms  of  those 
who  had  gone  through  the  cow-pox.  This  I conceived  to  be 
of  great  importance  in  conducting  these  experiments,  and, 
were  it  always  properly  attended  to  by  those  who  inoculate 
for  the  smallpox,  it  might  prevent  much  subsequent  mischief 
and  confusion.  With  the  view  of  enforcing  so  necessary 
a precaution  I shall  take  the  liberty  of  digressing  so  far  as 
to  point  out  some  unpleasant  facts  relative  to  mismanage- 
ment in  this  particular,  which  have  fallen  under  my  own 
observation. 

15  My  friend.  Dr.  Hicks,  of  Bristol,  who,  during  the  prevalence  of  this 
distemper,  was  resident  at  Gloucester,  and  physician  of  the  hospital  there 
(where  it  was  seen  soon  after  its  first  appearance  in  this  country),  had 
opportunities  of  making  numerous  observations  upon  it,  which  it  is  his 
intention  to  communicate  to  the  public. 


174 


EDWARD  JENNER 


A medical  gentleman  (now  no  more),  who  for  many  years 
inoculated  in  this  neighbourhood,  frequently  preserved  the 
variolous  matter  intended  for  his  use  on  a piece  of  lint  or 
cotton,  which,  in  its  fluid  state,  was  put  into  a vial,  corked, 
and  conveyed  into  a warm  pocket ; a situation  certainly  fa- 
vourable for  speedily  producing  putrefaction  in  it.  In  this 
state  (not  unfrequently  after  it  had  been  taken  several  days 
from  the  pustules)  it  was  inserted  into  the  arms  of  his 
patients,  and  brought  on  inflammation  of  the  incised  parts, 
swellings  of  the  axillary  glands,  fever,  and  sometimes  erup- 
tions. But  what  was  this  disease?  Certainly  not  the  small- 
pox; for  the  matter  having  from  putrefaction  lost  or  suf- 
fered a derangement  in  its  specific  properties,  was  no  longer 
capable  of  producing  that  malady,  those  who  had  been  inocu- 
lated in  this  manner  being  as  much  subject  to  the  contagion 
of  the  smallpox  as  if  they  had  never  been  under  the  influence 
of  this  artificial  disease ; and  many,  unfortunately,  fell  vic- 
tims to  it,  who  thought  themselves  in  perfect  security.  The 
same  unfortunate  circumstance  of  giving  a disease,  supposed 
to  be  the  smallpox,  with  inefficacious  variolous  matter,  having 
occurred  under  the  direction  of  some  other  practitioners 
within  my  knowledge,  and  probably  from  the  same  incautious 
method  of  securing  the  variolous  matter,  I avail  myself  of 
this  opportunity  of  mentioning  what  I conceive  to  be  of 
great  importance;  and,  as  a further  cautionary  hint,  I shall 
again  digress  so  far  as  to  add  another  observation  on  the 
subject  of  inoculation. 

Whether  it  be  yet  ascertained  by  experiment  that  the 
quantity  of  variolous  matter  inserted  into  the  skin  makes  any 
difference  with  respect  to  the  subsequent  mildness  or  violence 
of  the  disease,  I know  not;  but  I have  the  strongest  reason 
for  supposing  that  if  either  the  punctures  or  incisions  be 
made  so  deep  as  to  go  through  it  and  wound  the  adipose  mem- 
brane, that  the  risk  of  bringing  on  a violent  disease  is 
greatly  increased.  I have  known  an  inoculator  whose  prac- 
tice was  “to  cut  deep  enough  (to  use  his  own  expression) 
to  see  a bit  of  fat,”  and  there  to  lodge  the  matter.  The  great 
number  of  bad  cases,  independent  of  inflammations  and 
abscesses  on  the  arms,  and  the  fatality  which  attended  this 
practice,  was  almost  inconceivable;  and  I cannot  account  for 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


17S 


it  on  any  other  principle  than  that  of  the  matter  being  placed 
in  this  situation  instead  of  the  skin. 

It  was  the  practice  of  another,  whom  I well  remember,  to 
pinch  up  a small  portion  of  the  skin  on  the  arms  of  his  pa- 
tients and  to  pass  through  it  a needle,  with  a thread  attached 
to  it  previously  dipped  in  variolous  matter.  The  thread  was 
lodged  in  the  perforated  part,  and  consequently  left  in  con- 
tact with  the  cellular  membrane.  This  practice  was  attended 
with  the  same  ill  success  as  the  former.  Although  it  is  very 
improbable  that  any  one  would  now  inoculate  in  this  rude 
way  by  design,  yet  these  observations  may  tend  to  place  a 
double  guard  over  the  lancet,  when  infants,  whose  skins  are 
comparatively  so  very  thin,  fall  under  the  care  of  the 
inoculator. 

A very  respectable  friend  of  mine,  Dr.  Hardwicke,  of  Sod- 
bury,  in  this  county,  inoculated  great  numbers  of  patients 
previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  more  modern  method  by 
Sutton,  and  with  such  success  that  a fatal  instance  occurred 
as  rarely  as  since  that  method  has  been  adopted.  It  was 
the  doctor’s  practice  to  make  as  slight  an  incision  as  possible 
upon  the  skin,  and  there  to  lodge  a thread  saturated  with 
the  variolous  matter.  When  his  patients  became  indisposed, 
agreeably  to  the  custom  then  prevailing,  they  were  directed 
to  go  to  bed  and  were  kept  moderately  warm.  Is  it  not 
probable  then  that  the  success  of  the  modern  practice  may 
depend  more  upon  the  method  of  invariably  depositing  the 
virus  in  or  upon  the  skin,  than  on  the  subsequent  treatment 
of  the  disease? 

I do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  exposure  to  cool  air,  and 
suffering  the  patient  to  drink  cold  water  when  hot  and  thirsty, 
may  not  moderate  the  eruptive  symptoms  and  lessen  the  num- 
ber of  pustules ; yet,  to  repeat  my  former  observation,  I 
cannot  account  for  the  uninterrupted  success,  or  nearly  so, 
of  one  practitioner,  and  the  wretched  state  of  the  patients 
under  the  care  of  another,  where,  in  both  instances,  the  gen- 
eral treatment  did  not  differ  essentially,  without  conceiving 
it  to  arise  from  the  different  modes  of  inserting  the  matter 
for  the  purpose  of  producing  the  disease.  As  it  is  not  the 
identical  matter  inserted  which  is  absorbed  into  the  constitu- 
tion, but  that  which  is,  by  some  peculiar  process  in  the  animal 


176 


EDWARD  JENNER 


economy,  generated  by  it,  is  it  not  probable  that  different 
parts  of  the  human  body  may  prepare  or  modify  the  virus 
differently?  Although  the  skin,  for  example,  adipose  mem- 
brane,. or  mucous  membranes  are  all  capable  of  producing 
the  variolous  virus  by  the  stimulus  given  by  the  particles 
originally  deposited  upon  them,  yet  I am  induced  to  conceive 
that  each  of  these  parts  is  capable  of  producing  some  vari- 
ation in  the  qualities  of  the  matter  previous  to  its  affecting 
the  constitution.  What  else  can  constitute  the  difference  be- 
tween the  smallpox  when  communicated  casually  or  in  what 
has  been  termed  the  natural  way,  or  when  brought  on  arti- 
ficially through  the  medium  of  the  skin? 

After  all,  are  the  variolous  particles,  possessing  their  true 
specific  and  contagious  principles,  ever  taken  up  and  con- 
veyed by  the  lymphatics  unchanged  into  the  blood  vessels  ? I 
imagine  not.  Were  this  the  case,  should  we  not  find  the  blood 
sufficiently  loaded  with  them  in  some  stages  of  the  smallpox 
to  communicate  the  disease  by  inserting  it  under  the  cuticle, 
or  by  spreading  it  on  the  surface  of  an  ulcer?  Yet  experi- 
ments have  determined  the  impracticability  of  its  being  given 
in  this  way ; although  it  has  been  proved  that  variolous 
matter,  when  much  diluted  with  water  and  applied  to  the 
skin  in  the  usual  manner,  will  produce  the  disease.  But  it 
would  be  digressing  beyond  a proper  boundary  to  go  minutely 
into  this  subject  here. 

At  what  period  the  cow-pox  was  first  noticed  here  is  not 
upon  record.  Our  oldest  farmers  were  not  unacquainted  with 
it  in  their  earliest  days,  when  it  appeared  among  their  farms 
without  any  deviation  from  the  phsenomena  which  it  now  ex- 
hibits. Its  connection  with  the  smallpox  seems  to  have  been 
unknown  to  them.  Probably  the  general  introduction  of 
inoculation  first  occasioned  the  discovery. 

Its  rise  in  this  country  may  not  have  been  of  very  remote 
date,  as  the  practice  of  milking  cows  might  formerly  have 
been  in  the  hands  of  women  only ; which  I believe  is  the  case 
now  in  some  other  dairy  countries,  and,  consequently,  that 
the  cows  might  not  in  former  times  have  been  exposed  to  the 
contagious  matter  brought  by  the  men  servants  from  the 
heels  of  horses.16  Indeed,  a knowledge  of  the  source  of  the 

16 1 have  been  informed  from  respectable  authority  that  in  Ireland,  al- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


177 


infection  is  new  in  the  minds  of  most  of  the  farmers  in  this 
neighbourhood,  but  it  has  at  length  produced  good  conse- 
quences; and  it  seems  probable,  from  the  precautions  they 
are  now  disposed  to  adopt,  that  the  appearance  of  the  cow- 
pox  here  may  either  be  entirely  extinguished  or  become  ex- 
tremely rare. 

Should  it  be  asked  whether  this  investigation  is  a matter 
of  mere  curiosity,  or  whether  it  tends  to  any  beneficial  pur- 
pose, I should  answer  that,  notwithstanding  the  happy  effects 
of  inoculation,  with  all  the  improvements  which  the  practice 
has  received  since  its  first  introduction  into  this  country,  it 
not  very  unfrequently  produces  deformity  of  the  skin,  and 
sometimes,  under  the  best  management,  proves  fatal. 

These  circumstances  must  naturally  create  in  every  in- 
stance some  degree  of  painful  solicitude  for  its  consequences. 
But  as  I have  never  known  fatal  effects  arise  from  the  cow- 
pox,  even  when  impressed  in  the  most  unfavourable  manner, 
producing  extensive  inflammations  and  suppurations  on  the 
hands;  and  as  it  clearly  appears  that  this  disease  leaves  the 
constitution  in  a state  of  perfect  security  from  the  infection 
of  the  smallpox,  may  we  not  infer  that  a mode  of  inoculation 
may  be  introduced  preferable  to  that  at  present  adopted, 
especially  among  those  families  which,  from  previous  cir- 
cumstances, we  may  judge  to  be  predisposed  to  have  the  dis- 
ease unfavourably?  It  is  an  excess  in  the  number  of  pustules 
which  we  chiefly  dread  in  the  smallpox;  but  in  the  cow-pox 
no  pustules  appear,  nor  does  it  seem  possible  for  the  con- 
tagious matter  to  produce  the  disease  from  effluvia,  or  by  any 
other  means  than  contact,  and  that  probably  not  simply  be- 
tween the  virus  and  the  cuticle;  so  that  a single  individual 
in  a family  might  at  any  time  receive  it  without  the  risk 
of  infecting  the  rest  or  of  spreading  a distemper  that  fills  a 
country  with  terror. 

Several  instances  have  come  under  my  observation  which 
justify  the  assertion  that  the  disease  cannot  be  propagated  by 
effluvia.  The  first  boy  whom  I inoculated  with  the  matter 

though  dairies  abound  in  many  parts  of  the  island,  the  disease  is  entirely 
unknown.  The  reason  seems  obvious.  The  business  of  the  dairy  is  con- 
ducted by  women  only.  Were  the  meanest  vassal  among  the  men  employed 
there  as  a milker  at  a dairy,  he  would  feel  his  situation  unpleasant  beyond 
all  endurance. 


178 


EDWARD  JENNER 


of  cow-pox  slept  in  a bed,  while  the  experiment  was  going 
forward,  with  two  children  who  never  had  gone  through 
either  that  disease  or  the  smallpox,  without  infecting  either 
of  them. 

A young  woman  who  had  the  cow-pox  to  a great  extent, 
several  sores  which  maturated  having  appeared  on  the  hands 
and  wrists,  slept  in  the  same  bed  with  a fellow-dairymaid 
who  never  had  been  infected  with  either  the  cow-pox  or  the 
smallpox,  but  no  indisposition  followed. 

Another  instance  has  occurred  of  a young  woman  on  whose 
hands  were  several  large  suppurations  from  the  cow-pox, 
who  was  at  the  same  time  a daily  nurse  to  an  infant,  but  the 
complaint  was  not  communicated  to  the  child. 

In  some  other  points  of  view  the  inoculation  of  this  disease 
appears  preferable  to  the  variolous  inoculation. 

In  constitutions  predisposed  to  scrophula,  how  frequently 
we  see  the  inoculated  smallpox  rouse  into  activity  that  dis- 
tressful malady ! This  circumstance  does  not  seem  to  de- 
pend on  the  manner  in  which  the  distemper  has  shewn  it- 
self, for  it  has  as  frequently  happened  among  those  who  have 
had  it  mildly  as  when  it  has  appeared  in  the  contrary  way. 

There  are  many  who,  from  some  peculiarity  in  the  habit,  re- 
sist the  common  effects  of  variolous  matter  inserted  into  the 
skin,  and  who  are  in  consequence  haunted  through  life  with 
the  distressing  idea  of  being  insecure  from  subsequent  in- 
fection. A ready  mode  of  dissipating  anxiety  originating 
from  such  a cause  must  now  appear  obvious.  And,  as  we 
have  seen  that  the  constitution  may  at  any  time  be  made  to 
feel  the  febrile  attack  of  cow-pox,  might  it  not,  in  many 
chronic  diseases,  be  introduced  into  the  system,  with  the 
probability  of  affording  relief,  upon  well-known  physiological 
principles  ? 

Although  I say  the  system  may  at  any  time  be  made  to 
feel  the  febrile  attack  of  cow-pox,  yet  I have  a single  instance 
before  me  where  the  virus  acted  locally  only,  but  it  is  not  in 
the  least  probable  that  the  same  person  would  resist  the  action 
both  of  the  cow-pox  virus  and  the  variolous. 

Elizabeth  Sarfenet  lived  as  a dairymaid  at  Newpark  farm, 
in  this  parish.  All  the  cows  and  the  servants  employed  in 
milking  had  the  cow-pox;  but  this  woman,  though  she  had 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


179 


several  sores  upon  her  fingers,  felt  no  tumours  in  the  axillae, 
nor  any  general  indisposition.  On  being  afterwards  casually 
exposed  to  variolous  infection,  she  had  the  smallpox  in  a 
mild  way.  Hannah  Pick,  another  of  the  dairymaids  who  was 
a fellow-servant  with  Elizabeth  Sarfenet  when  the  dis- 
temper broke  out  at  the  farm,  was,  at  the  same  time,  in- 
fected; but  this  young  woman  had  not  only  sores  upon  her 
hands,  but  felt  herself  also  much  indisposed  for  a day  or 
two.  After  this,  I made  several  attempts  to  give  her  the 
smallpox  by  inoculation,  but  they  all  proved  fruitless.  From 
the  former  case  then  we  see  that  the  animal  economy  is 
subject  to  the  same  laws  in  one  disease  as  the  other. 

The  following  case,  which  has  very  lately  occurred,  renders 
it  highly  probable  that  not  only  the  heels  of  the  horse,  but 
other  parts  of  the  body  of  that  animal,  are  capable  of  generat- 
ing the  virus  which  produces  the  cow-pox. 

An  extensive  inflammation  of  the  erysipelatous  kind  ap- 
peared without  any  apparent  cause  upon  the  upper  part  of 
the  thigh  of  a sucking  colt,  the  property  of  Mr.  Millet,  a 
farmer  at  Rockhampton,  a village  near  Berkeley.  The  in- 
flammation continued  several  weeks,  and  at  length  terminated 
in  the  formation  of  three  or  four  small  abscesses.  The 
inflamed  parts  were  fomented,  and  dressings  were  applied  by 
some  of  the  same  persons  who  were  employed  in  milking 
the  cows.  The  number  of  cows  milked  was  twenty-four,  and 
the  whole  of  them  had  the  cow-pox.  The  milkers,  consist- 
ing of  the  farmer’s  wife,  a man  and  a maidservant,  were 
infected  by  the  cows.  The  man-servant  had  previously  gone 
through  the  smallpox,  and  felt  but  little  of  the  cow-pox. 
The  servant  maid  had  some  years  before  been  infected  with 
the  cow-pox,  and  she  also  felt  it  now  in  a slight  degree ; but 
the  farmer’s  wife,  who  never  had  gone  through  either  of  the 
diseases,  felt  its  effects  very  severely. 

That  the  disease  produced  upon  the  cows  by  the  colt  and 
from  thence  conveyed  to  those  who  milked  them  was  the  true 
and  not  the  spurious  cow-pox,  there  can  be  scarcely  any, 
room  for  suspicion ; yet  it  would  have  been  more  completely 
satisfactory  had  the  effects  of  variolous  matter  been  ascer- 
tained on  the  farmer’s  wife,  but  there  was  a peculiarity  in 
her  situation  which  prevented  my  making  the  experiment. 


180 


EDWARD  JENNER 


Thus  far  have  I proceeded  in  an  inquiry  founded,  as  it 
must  appear,  on  the  basis  of  experiment ; in  which,  however, 
conjecture  has  been  occasionally  admitted  in  order  to  present 
to  persons  well  situated  for  such  discussions  objects  for  a 
more  minute  investigation.  In  the  mean  time  I shall  myself 
continue  to  prosecute  this  inquiry,  encouraged  by  the  hope 
of  its  becoming  essentially  beneficial  to  mankind. 


II 

Further  Observations  on  the  Variola  Vaccine,  or 
Cow-pox.  1799 

Although  it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to  extend  the  in- 
quiry into  the  causes  and  effects  of  the  variolas  vaccinse  much 
beyond  its  original  limits,  yet,  perceiving  that  it  is  begin- 
ning to  excite  a general  spirit  of  investigation,  I think  it  of 
importance,  without  delay,  to  communicate  such  facts  as 
have  since  occurred,  and  to  point  out  the  fallacious  sources 
from  whence  a disease  imitative  of  the  true  variolae  vac- 
cinae  might  arise,  with  the  view  of  preventing  those  who 
may  inoculate  from  producing  a spurious  disease ; and, 
further,  to  enforce  the  precaution  suggested  in  the  former 
treatise  on  the  subject,  of  subduing  the  inoculated  pustule  as 
soon  as  it  has  sufficiently  produced  its  influence  on  the  con- 
stitution. From  a want  of  due  discrimination  of  the  real  ex- 
istence of  the  disease,  either  in  the  brute  or  in  the  human 
subject,  and  also  of  that  stage  of  it  in  which  it  is  capable  of 
producing  the  change  in  the  animal  economy  which  renders 
it  unsusceptible  of  the  contagion  of  the  smallpox,  unpleasant 
consequences  might  ensue,  the  source  of  which,  perhaps, 
might  not  be  suspected  by  one  inexperienced  in  conducting 
such  experiments. 

My  late  publication  contains  a relation  of  most  of  the 
facts  which  had  come  under  my  own  inspection  at  the  time 
it  was  written,  interspersed  with  some  conjectural  observa- 
tions. Since  then  Dr.  G.  Pearson  has  established  an  inquiry 
into  the  validity  of  my  principal  assertion,  the  result  of  which 
cannot  but  be  highly  flattering  to  my  feelings.  It  contains  not 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


181 


a single  case  which  I think  can  be  called  an  exception  to 
the  fact  I was  so  firmly  impressed  with — that  the  cow-pox 
protects  the  human  body  from  the  smallpox.  I have  myself 
received  some  further  confirmations,  which  shall  be  subjoined. 
I have  lately  also  been  favoured  with  a letter  from  a gentle- 
man of  great  respectability  (Dr.  Ingenhousz),  informing  me 
that,  on  making  an  inquiry  into  the  subject  in  the  county  of 
Wilts,  he  discovered  that  a farmer  near  Caine  had  been  in- 
fected with  the  smallpox  after  having  had  the  cow-pox,  and 
that  the  disease  in  each  instance  was  so  strongly  characterized 
as  to  render  the  facts  incontrovertible.  The  cow-pox,  it 
seems,  from  the  doctor’s  information,  was  communicated  to 
the  farmer  from  his  cows  at  the  time  that  they  gave  out  an 
offensive  stench  from  their  udders. 

Some  other  instances  have  likewise  been  represented  to 
me  of  the  appearance  of  the  disease,  apparently  marked  with 
its  characteristic  symptoms,  and  yet  that  the  patients  have 
afterwards  had  the  smallpox.  On  these  cases  I shall,  for 
the  present,  suspend  any  particular  remarks,  but  hope  that 
the  general  observations  I have  to  offer  in  the  sequel  will 
prove  of  sufficient  weight  to  render  the  idea  of  their  ever 
having  had  existence,  but  as  cases  of  spurious  cow-pox, 
extremely  doubtful. 

Ere  I proceed  let  me  be  permitted  to  observe  that  truth, 
in  this  and  every  other  physiological  inquiry  that  has  occu- 
pied my  attention,  has  ever  been  the  object  of  my  pursuit, 
and  should  it  appear  in  the  present  instance  that  I have  been 
led  into  error,  fond  as  I may  appear  of  the  offspring  of  my 
labours,  I had  rather  see  it  perish  at  once  than  exist  and  do  a 
public  injury. 

I shall  proceed  to  enumerate  the  sources,  or  what  appear 
to  me  as  such,  of  a spurious  cow-pox. 

First:  That  arising  from  pustules  on  the  nipples  or  udder  of 
the  cow ; which  pustules  contain  no  specific  virus. 

Secondly:  From  matter  (although  originally  possessing  the 
specific  virus)  which  has  suffered  a decomposition,  either 
from  putrefaction  or  from  any  other  cause  less  obvious  to 
the  senses. 

Thirdly:  From  matter  taken  from  an  ulcer  in  an  advanced 
stage,  which  ulcer  arose  from  a true  cow  pock. 


182 


EDWARD  JENNER 


Fourthly:  From  matter  produced  on  the  human  skin  from 
contact  with  some  peculiar  morbid  matter  generated  by  a 
horse. 

On  these  subjects  I shall  offer  some  comments:  First, 
to  what  length  pustulous  diseases  of  the  udder  and  nipples 
of  the  cow  may  extend  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  determine; 
but  certain  it  is  that  these  parts  of  the  animal  are  subject  to 
some  variety  of  maladies  of  this  nature;  and  as  many  of 
these  eruptions  (probably  all  of  them)  are  capable  of  giving 
a disease  to  the  human  body,  would  it  not  be  discreet  for 
those  engaged  in  this  investigation  to  suspend  controversy 
and  cavil  until  they  can  ascertain  with  precision  what  is  and 
what  is  not  the  cow-pox  ? 

For  example:  A farmer  who  is  not  conversant  with  any 
of  these  maladies,  but  who  may  have  heard  of  the  cow-pox 
in  general  terms,  may  acquaint  a neighbouring  surgeon  that 
the  distemper  appears  at  his  farm.  The  surgeon,  eager  to 
make  an  experiment,  takes  away  matter,  inoculates,  produces 
a sore,  uneasiness  in  the  axilla,  and  perhaps  some  affection 
of  the  system.  This  is  one  way  in  which  a fallacious  idea 
of  security  both  in  the  mind  of  the  inoculator  and  the  patient 
may  arise ; for  a disease  may  thus  have  been  propagated  from 
a simple  eruption  only. 

One  of  the  first  objects  then  of  this  pursuit,  as  I have 
observed,  should  be,  to  learn  how  to  distinguish  with  ac- 
curacy between  that  peculiar  pustule  which  is  the  true  cow 
pock,  and  that  which  is  spurious.  Until  experience  has  de- 
termined this,  we  view  our  object  through  a mist.  Let  us, 
for  instance,  suppose  that  the  smallpox  and  the  chicken-pox 
were  at  the  same  time  to  spread  among  the  inhabitants  of  a 
country  which  had  never  been  visited  by  either  of  these  dis- 
tempers, and  where  they  were  quite  unknown  before:  what 
confusion  would  arise ! The  resemblance  between  the  symp- 
toms of  the  eruptive  fever  and  between  the  pustules  in  either 
case  would  be  so  striking  that  a patient  who  had  gone  through 
the  chicken-pox  to  any  extent  would  feel  equally  easy  with 
regard  to  his  future  security  from  the  smallpox  as  the  person 
who  had  actually  passed  through  that  disease.  Time  and 
future  observation  would  draw  the  line  of  distinction. 

So  I presume  it  will  be  with  the  cow-pox  until  it  is  mere 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


183 


generally  understood.  All  cavilling,  therefore,  on  the  mere 
report  of  those  who  tell  us  they  have  had  this  distemper,  and 
are  afterwards  found  susceptible  of  the  smallpox,  should  be 
suspended.  To  illustrate  this  I beg  leave  to  give  the  fol- 
lowing history : 

Sarah  Merlin,  of  the  parish  of  Eastington  in  this  county, 
when  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age  lived  as  a ser- 
vant with  farmer  Clarke,  who  kept  a dairy  consisting  of  about 
eighteen  cows  at  Stonehouse,  a neighbouring  village.  The 
nipples  and  udders  of  three  of  the  cows  were  extensively  af- 
fected with  large  white  blisters.  These  cows  the  girl  milked 
daily,  and  at  the  time  she  assisted,  with  two  others,  in  milk- 
ing the  rest  of  the  herd.  It  soon  appeared  that  the  disease 
was  communicated  to  the  girl.  The  rest  of  the  cows  escaped 
the  infection,  although  they  were  milked  several  days  after 
the  three  above  specified,  had  these  eruptions  on  the  nipples 
and  udders,  and  even  after  the  girl’s  hand  became  sore.  The 
two  others  who  were  engaged  in  milking,  although  they 
milked  the  cows  indiscriminately,  received  no  injury.  On 
the  fingers  of  each  of  the  girl’s  hands  there  appeared  several 
large  white  blisters — she  supposes  about  three  or  four  on  each 
finger.  The  hands  and  arms  inflamed  and  swelled,  but  no 
constitutional  indisposition  followed.  The  sores  were 
anointed  with  some  domestic  ointment  and  got  well  without 
ulcerating. 

As  this  malady  was  called  the  cow-pox,  and  recorded  as 
such  in  the  mind  of  the  patient,  she  became  regardless  of 
the  smallpox;  but,  on  being  exposed  to  it  some  years  after- 
wards she  was  infected,  and  had  a full  burthen. 

Now  had  any  one  conversant  with  the  habits  of  the  dis- 
ease heard  this  history,  they  would  have  had  no  hesitation 
in  pronouncing  it  a case  of  spurious  cow-pox;  considering 
its  deviation  in  the  numerous  blisters  which  appeared  on  the 
girl’s  hands;  their  termination  without  ulceration;  its  not 
proving  more  generally  contagious  at  the  farm,  either  among 
the  cattle  or  those  employed  in  milking ; and  considering  also 
that  the  patient  felt  no  general  indisposition,  although  there 
was  so  great  a number  of  vesicles. 

This  is  perhaps  the  most  deceptious  form  in  which  an 
eruptive  disease  can  be  communicated  from  the  cow,  and  it 


184 


EDWARD  JENNER 


certainly  requires  some  attention  in  discriminating  it.  The 
most  perfect  criterion  by  which  the  judgment  may  be  guided 
is  perhaps  that  adopted  by  those  who  attend  infected  cattle. 
These  white  blisters  on  the  nipples,  they  say,  never  eat  into 
the  fleshy  parts  like  those  which  are  commonly  of  a bluish 
cast,  and  which  constitute  the  true  cow-pox,  but  that  they 
affect  the  skin  only,  quickly  end  in  scabs,  and  are  not  nearly 
so  infectious. 

That  which  appeared  to  me  as  one  cause  of  spurious  erup- 
tions, I have  already  remarked  in  the  former  treatise,  name- 
ly, the  transition  that  the  cow  makes  in  the  spring  from  a 
poor  to  a nutritious  diet,  and  from  the  udder’s  becoming  at 
this  time  more  vascular  than  usual  for  the  supply  of  milk. 
But  there  is  another  source  of  inflammation  and  pustules 
which  I believe  is  not  Uncommon  in  all  the  dairy  counties  in 
the  west  of  England.  A cow  intended  to  be  exposed  for  sale, 
having  naturally  a small  udder,  is  previously  for  a day  or 
two  neither  milked  artificially  nor  is  her  calf  suffered  to  have 
access  to  her.  Thus  the  milk  is  preternaturally  accumulated, 
and  the  udder  and  nipples  become  greatly  distended.  The 
consequences  frequently  are  inflammation  and  eruptions 
which  maturate. 

Whether  a disease  generated  in  this  way  has  the  power  of 
affecting  the  constitution  in  any  peculiar  manner  I cannot 
presume  positively  to  determine.  It  has  been  conjectured  to 
have  been  a cause  of  the  true  cow-pox,  though  my  inquiries 
have  not  led  me  to  adopt  this  supposition  in  any  one  in- 
• stance ; on  the  contrary,  I have  known  the  milkers  affected 
by  it,  but  always  found  that  an  affection  thus  induced  left  the 
system  as  susceptible  of  the  smallpox  as  before. 

What  is  advanced  in  my  second  position  I consider  also  of 
very  great  importance,  and  I could  wish  it  to  be  strongly  im- 
pressed on  the  minds  of  all  who  may  be  disposed  to  conclude 
hastily  on  my  observations,  whether  engaged  in  their  inves- 
tigation by  experiments  or  not.  To  place  this  in  its  clearest 
point  of  view  (as  the  similarity  between  the  action  of  the 
smallpox  and  the  cow-pox  matter  is  so  obvious)  it  will  be 
necessary  to  consider  what  we  sometimes  observe  to  take 
place  in  inoculation  for  the  smallpox  when  imperfect  vario- 
lous matter  is  made  use  of.  The  concise  history  on  this  sub- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


185 


ject  that  was  brought  forward  respecting  what  I had  observed 
in  this  neighbourhood 1 I perceive,  by  a reference  since  made 
to  the  Memoirs  of  the  Medical  Society  of  London,  may  be 
considered  as  no  more  than  a corroboration  of  the  facts  very 
clearly  detailed  by  Mr.  Kite.2  To  this  copious  evidence  I have 
to  add  still  more  in  the  following  communications  from  Mr. 
Earle,  surgeon,  of  Frampton-upon-Severn,  in  this  county, 
which  I deem  the  more  valuable,  as  he  has  with  much  candour 
permitted  me  to  make  them  public : 

“Sir: 

“ I have  read  with  satisfaction  your  late  publication  on  the 
Variolse  Vaccinse,  and  being,  among  many  other  curious  cir- 
cumstances, particularly  struck  with  that  relating  to  the  in- 
efficacy of  smallpox  matter  in  a particular  state,  I think  it 
proper  to  lay  before  you  the  following  facts  which  came 
within  my  own  knowledge,  and  which  certainly  tend  to 
strengthen  the  opinions  advanced  in  pages  56  and  57  of 
your  treatise. 

“ In  March,  1784,  a general  inoculation  took  place  at 
Arlingham  in  this  county.  I inoculated  several  patients  with 
active  variolous  matter,  all  of  whom  had  the  disease  in  a 
favourable  way ; but  the  matter  being  all  used,  and  not  being 
able  to  procure  any  more  in  the  state  I wished,  I was  under 
the  necessity  of  taking  it  from  a pustule  which,  experience 
has  since  proved,  was  advanced  too  far  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose I intended.  Of  five  persons  inoculated  with  this  last 
matter,  four  took  the  smallpox  afterwards  in  the  natural 
way,  one  of  whom  died,  three  recovered,  and  the  other,  being 
cautioned  by  me  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  the  chance  of 
catching  it,  escaped  from  the  disease  through  life.  He  died 
of  another  disorder  about  two  years  ago. 

“ Although  one  of  these  cases  ended  unfortunate,  yet  I 
cannot  suppose  that  any  medical  man  will  think  me  careless 
or  inattentive  in  their  management;  for  I conceive  the  ap- 
pearances were  such  as  might  have  induced  any  one  to  sup- 

* Inquiry  into  the  Causes  and  Effects  of  the  Variolae  Vaccinae,  p.  56  of  the 
original  article. 

- See  an  account  of  some  anomalous  appearances  consequent  to  the  inocu- 
lation _ of  the  smallpox,  by  Charles  Kite,  Surgeon,  of  Gravesend,  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Medical  Society  of  London,  vol.  iv,  p.  114. 


186 


EDWARD  JENNER 


pose  that  the  persons  were  perfectly  safe  from  future  in- 
fection. Inflammation  in  every  case  took  place  in  the  arm, 
and  fever  came  on  with  a considerable  degree  of  pain  in  the 
axilla.  In  some  of  their  arms  the  inflammation  and  suppura- 
tion were  more  violent  than  is  commonly  observed  when  per- 
fect matter  is  made  use  of ; in  one  there  was  an  ulcer  which 
cast  off  several  large  sloughs.  About  the  ninth  day  eruptions 
appeared,  which  died  away  earlier  than  common  without  ma- 
turation. From  these  circumstances  I should  suppose  that  no 
medical  practitioner  would  scarcely  have  entertained  a doubt 
but  that  these  patients  had  been  infected  with  a true  small- 
pox; yet  I must  confess  that  some  small  degree  of  doubt  pre- 
sented itself  to  me  at  the  speedy  disappearance  of  the  erup- 
tions; and  in  order,  as  far  as  I could,  to  ascertain  their 
safety,  I sent  one  of  them  to  a much  older  practitioner  than 
myself.  This  gentleman,  on  hearing  the  circumstances  of 
the  case,  pronounced  the  patient  perfectly  secure  from  future 
infection. 

“ The  following  facts  are  also  a striking  proof  of  the 
truth  of  your  observations  on  this  subject: 

“ In  the  year  1789  I inoculated  three  children  of  Mr. 
Coaley,  of  Hurst  farm  in  this  county.  The  arms  inflamed 
properly,  fever  and  pain  in  the  axillae  came  on  precisely 
the  same  as  in  the  former  cases,  and  in  ten  days  eruptions 
appeared,  which  disappeared  in  the  course  of  two  days.  I 
must  observe  that  the  matter  here  made  use  of  was  pro- 
cured for  me  by  a friend;  but  no  doubt  it  was  in  an  im- 
proper state;  for,  from  the  similarity  of  these  cases  to  those 
which  happened  at  Arlingham  five  years  before,  I was  some- 
what alarmed  for  their  safety,  and  desired  to  inoculate  them 
again : which  being  permitted,  I was  particularly  careful  to 
procure  matter  in  its  most  perfect  state.  All  the  children 
took  the  smallpox  from  this  second  inoculation,  and  all 
had  a very  full  burthen.  These  facts  I conceive  strikingly 
corroborate  your  opinion  relative  to  the  different  states 
of  matter;  for  in  both  instances  that  I have  mentioned  it 
was  capable  of  producing  something  strongly  resembling 
the  true  smallpox,  although  it  afterwards  proved  not  to 
be  so. 

“As  I think  the  communication  of  these  cases  is  a duty 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


187 


I owe  to  the  public,  you  are  at  liberty  to  make  what  use 
you  please  of  this  letter.  I remain,  &c., 

“ John  Earle. 

“ Frampton-upon  Severn,  Gloucestershire,  November  io,  1798. 

“ P.  S.  I think  it  necessary  to  observe  that  I can  pro- 
nounce, with  the  greatest  certainty,  that  the  matter  with 
which  the  Arlingham  patients  were  inoculated  was  taken 
from  a true  smallpox  pustule.  I took  it  myself  from  a 
subject  that  had  a very  full  burthen.” 

Certain  then  it  is  that  variolous  matter  may  undergo  such 
a change  from  the  putrefactive  process,  as  well  as  from 
some  of  the  more  obscure  and  latent  processes  of  nature, 
as  will  render  it  incapable  of  giving  the  smallpox  in  such 
a manner  as  to  secure  the  human  constitution  from  future 
infection,  although  we  see  at  the  same  time  it  is  capable 
of  exciting  a disease  which  bears  so  strong  a resemblance 
to  it  as  to  produce  inflammation  and  matter  in  the  incised 
skin  (frequently,  indeed,  more  violent  than  when  it  pro- 
duces its  effects  perfectly),  swelling  of  the  axillary  glands, 
general  indisposition,  and  eruptions.  So  strongly  persuaded 
was  the  gentleman,  whose  practice  I have  mentioned  in  page 
56  of  the  late  treatise,  that  he  could  produce  a mild  small- 
pox by  his  mode  of  managing  the  matter,  that  he  spoke  of 
it  as  a useful  discovery  until  convinced  of  his  error  by  the 
fatal  consequence  which  ensued. 

After  this  ought  we  to  be  in  the  smallest  degree  surprised 
to  find,  among  a great  number  of  individuals  who,  by  living 
in  dairies,  have  been  casually  exposed  to  the  cow-pox  virus 
when  in  a state  analogous  to  that  of  the  smallpox  above  de- 
scribed, some  who  may  have  had  the  disease  so  imperfectly 
as  not  to  render  them  secure  from  variolous  attacks?  For 
the  matter,  when  burst  from  the  pustules  on  the  nipples  of 
the  cow,  by  being  exposed,  from  its  lodgment  there,  to  the 
heat  of  an  inflamed  surface,  and  from  being  at  the  same 
time  in  a situation  to  be  occasionally  moistened  with  milk, 
is  often  likely  to  be  in  a state  conducive  to  putrefaction ; 
and  thus,  under  some  modification  of  decomposition,  it  must, 
of  course,  sometimes  find  access  to  the  hand  of  the  milker 


188 


EDWARD  JENNER 


in  such  a way  as  to  infect  him.  What  confusion  should  we 
have  were  there  no  other  mode  of  inoculating  the  smallpox 
than  such  as  would  happen  from  handling  the  diseased  skin 
of  a person  labouring  under  that  distemper  in  some  of  its 
advanced  and  loathsome  stages ! It  must  be  observed  that 
every  case  of  cow-pox  in  the  human  species,  whether  com- 
municated by  design  or  otherwise,  is  to  be  considered  as  a 
case  of  inoculation.  And  here  I may  be  allowed  to  make 
an  observation  on  the  case  of  the  farmer  communicated  to 
me  by  Dr.  Ingenhousz.  That  he  was  exposed  to  the  matter 
when  it  had  undergone  the  putrefactive  change  is  highly 
probable  from  the  doctor’s  observing  that  the  sick  cows  at 
the  farm  gave  out  an  offensive  stench  from  their  udders. 
However,  I must  remark  that  it  is  unusual  for  cattle  to 
suffer  to  such  an  extent,  when  disordered  with  the  cow- 
pox,  as  to  make  a bystander  sensible  of  any  ill  smell.  I 
have  often  stood  among  a herd  which  had  the  distemper 
without  being  conscious  of  its  presence  from  any  particular 
effluvia.  Indeed,  in  this  neighbourhood  it  commonly  re- 
ceives an  early  check  from  escharotic  applications  of  the 
cow  leech.  It  has  been  conceived  to  be  contagious  with- 
out contact;  but  this  idea  cannot  be  well  founded  because 
the  cattle  in  one  meadow  do  not  infect  those  in  another 
(although  there  may  be  no  other  partition  than  a hedge) 
unless  they  be  handled  or  milked  by  those  who  bring  the 
infectious  matter  with  them ; and  of  course,  the  smallest 
particle  imaginable,  when  applied  to  a part  susceptible  of 
its  influence,  may  produce  the  effect.  Among  the  human 
species  it  appears  to  be  very  clear  that  the  disease  is  pro- 
duced by  contact  only.  All  my  attempts,  at  least,  to  com- 
municate it  by  effluvia  have  hitherto  proved  ineffectual. 

As  well  as  the  perfect  change  from  that  state  in  which 
variolous  matter  is  capable  of  producing  full  and  decisive 
effects  on  the  constitution,  to  that  wherein  its  specific  prop- 
erties are  entirely  lost,  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed  that 
it  is  capable  of  undergoing  a variety  of  intermediate 
changes.  The  following  singular  occurrences  in  ten  cases 
of  inoculation,  obligingly  communicated  to  me  by  Mr.  Trye, 
Senior  Surgeon  to  the  Infirmary  at  Glocester,  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  variolous  matter,  previously  to  its  being  taken 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


189 


from  the  patient  for  the  intended  purpose,  was  beginning 
to  part  with  some  of  its  original  properties,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  it  had  suffered  a partial  decomposition.  Mr. 
Trye  says:  “I  inoculated  ten  children  with  matter  taken  at 
one  time  and  from  the  same  subject.  I observed  no  pecu- 
liarity in  any  of  them  previously  to  their  inoculation,  nor 
did  any  thing  remarkable  appear  in  their  arms  till  after 
the  decline  of  the  disease.  Two  infants  of  three  months  old 
had  erysipelas  about  the  incisions,  in  one  of  them  extending 
from  the  shoulders  to  the  fingers’  ends.  Another  infant 
had  abscesses  in  the  cellular  substance  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  incisions,  and  five  or  six  of  the  rest  had  axillary 
abscesses.  The  matter  was  taken  from  the  distinct  small- 
pox late  in  its  progress,  and  when  some  pustules  had  been 
dried.  It  was  received  upon  glass  and  slowly  dried  by  the 
fire.  All  the  children  had  pustules  which  maturated,  so 
that  I suppose  them  all  secure  from  future  infection ; at 
least,  as  secure  as  any  others  whom  I have  ever  inoculated. 
My  practice  never  afforded  a sore  arm  before.” 

In  regard  to  my  former  observation  on  the  improper  and 
dangerous  mode  of  preserving  variolous  matter,  I shall  here 
remark  that  it  seems  not  to  have  been  clearly  understood. 
Finding  that  it  has  been  confounded  with  the  more  eligible 
modes  of  preservation,  I will  explain  myself  further.  When 
the  matter  is  taken  from  a fit  pustule  and  properly  prepared 
for  preservation,  it  may  certainly  be  kept  without  losing  its 
specific  properties  a great  length  of  time ; for  instance,  when 
it  is  previously  dried  in  the  open  air  on  some  compact  body, 
as  a quill  or  a piece  of  glass,  and  afterwards  secured  in  a 
small  vial.3  But  when  kept  several  days  in  a state  of  mois- 
ture, and  during  that  time  exposed  to  a warm  temperature, 
I do  not  think  it  can  be  relied  upon  as  capable  of  giving  a 
perfect  disease,  although,  as  I have  before  observed,  the 
progress  of  the  symptoms  arising  from  the  action  of  the 
imperfect  matter  bear  so  strong  a resemblance  to  the  small- 
pox when  excited  completely. 

Thirdly.  That  the  first  formed  virus,  or  what  constitutes 
the  true  cow-pox  pustule,  invariably  possesses  the  power  I 

5 Thus  prepared,  the  cow-pox  virus  was  found  perfectly  active,  and  pos- 
sessing all  its  specific  properties,  at  the  end  of  three  months. 


190 


EDWARD  JENNER 


have  ascribed  to  it,  namely,  that  of  affecting  the  constitution 
with  a specific  disease,  is  a truth  that  no  subsequent  occur- 
rence has  yet  led  me  to  doubt.  But  as  I am  now  endeavour- 
ing to  guard  the  public  as  much  as  possible  against  erroneous 
conclusions,  I shall  observe  that  when  this  pustule  has  de- 
generated into  an  ulcer  (to  which  state  it  is  often  disposed 
to  pass  unless  timely  checked),  I suspect  that  matter  possess- 
ing very  different  properties  may  sooner  or  later  be  pro- 
duced ; and  although  it  may  have  passed  that  stage  wherein 
the  specific  properties  of  the  matter  secreted  are  no  longer 
present  in  it,  yet  when  applied  to  a sore  (as  in  the  casual 
way)  it  might  dispose  that  sore  to  ulcerate,  and  from  its 
irritation  the  system  would  probably  become  affected;  and 
thus,  by  assuming  some  of  its  strongest  characters,  it 
would  imitate  the  genuine  cow-pox. 

From  the  preceding  observations  on  the  matter  of  small- 
pox when  decomposed  it  must,  I conceive,  be  admitted  that 
cow-pox  matter  in  the  state  now  described  may  produce 
a disease,  the  effects  of  which  may  be  felt  both  locally  and 
generally,  yet  that  the  disease  thus  induced  may  not  be  ef- 
fectual in  obviating  the  future  effects  of  variolous  con- 
tagion. In  the  case  of  Mary  Miller,  related  by  Mr.  Kite 
in  the  volume  above  alluded  to,  it  appears  that  the  inflam- 
mation and  suppuration  of  the  inoculated  arm  were  more 
than  usually  severe,  although  the  system  underwent  no 
specific  change  from  the  action  of  the  virus;  which  ap- 
pears from  the  patient’s  sickening  seven  weeks  afterwards 
with  the  natural  smallpox,  which  went  through  its  course. 
Some  of  the  cases  communicated  by  Mr.  Earle  tend  further 
to  confirm  this  fact,  as  the  matter  there  manifestly  pro- 
duced ulceration  on  the  inoculated  part  to  a considerable 
extent. 

Fourthly.  Whether  the  cow-pox  is  a spontaneous  disease 
in  the  cow,  or  is  to  be  attributed  to  matter  conveyed  to  the 
animal,  as  I have  conceived,  from  the  horse,  is  a question 
which,  though  I shall  not  attempt  now  fully  to  discuss,  yet 
I shall  digress  so  far  as  to  adduce  some  further  observa- 
tions, and  to  give  my  reasons  more  at  large  for  taking  up 
an  opinion  that  to  some  had  appeared  fanciful.  The  ag- 
gregate of  these  observations,  though  not  amounting  to 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


191 


positive  proof,  forms  presumptive  evidence  of  so  forcible 
a kind  that  I imagine  it  might,  on  any  other  person,  have 
made  the  same  impression  it  did  on  me,  without  fixing  the 
imputation  of  credulity. 

First:  I conceived  this  was  the  source,  from  observing 
that  where  the  cow-pox  had  appeared  among  the  dairies 
here  (unless  it  could  be  traced  to  the  introduction  of  an 
infected  cow  or  servant)  it  had  been  preceded  at  the  farm 
by  a horse  diseased  in  the  manner  already  described,  which 
horse  had  been  attended  by  some  of  the  milkers. 

Secondly:  From  its  being  a popular  opinion  throughout 
this  great  dairy  country,  and  from  its  being  insisted  on  by 
those  who  here  attend  sick  cattle. 

Thirdly:  From  the  total  absence  of  the  disease  in  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  where  the  men-servants  are  not  employed 
in  the  dairies.1 * * 4 * 

Fourthly:  From  having  observed  that  morbid  matter  gen- 
erated by  the  horse  frequently  communicates,  in  a casual 
way,  a disease  to  the  human  subject  so  like  the  cow-pox 
that,  in  many  cases,  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  the  dis- 
tinction between  one  and  the  other.6 

Fifthly:  From  being  induced  to  suppose,  from  experi- 
ments, that  some  of  those  who  had  been  thus  affected  from 
the  horse  resisted  the  smallpox. 

Sixthly:  From  the  progress  and  general  appearance  of 
the  pustule  on  the  arm  of  the  boy  whom  I inoculated  with 
matter  taken  from  the  hand  of  a man  infected  by  a horse ; 
and  from  the  similarity  to  the  cow-pox  of  general  consti- 
tutional symptoms  which  followed.6 

I fear  it  would  be  trespassing  too  far  to  adduce  the  gen- 
eral testimony  of  our  farmers  in  support  of  this  opinion; 
yet  I beg  leave  to  introduce  an  extract  of  a letter  on  this 


1 This  information  was  communicated  to  me  from  the  first  authority. 

5 The  sound  skin  does  not  appear  to  be  susceptible  of  this  virus  when 
inserted  into  it,  but,  when  previously  diseased  from  little  accidents,  its 

effects  are  often  conspicuous. 

6 This  case  (on  which  I laid  no  inconsiderable  stress  in  my  late  treatise, 
as  presumptive  evidence  of  the  fact  adduced)  seems  to  have  been  either 
mistaken  or  overlooked  by  those  who  have  commented  upon  it.  (See  Case 

XVIII,  p.  36.)  The  boy,  unfortunately,  died  of  a fever  at  a parish  work- 
house  before  I had  an  opportunity  of  observing  what  effects  would  have 

been  produced  by  the  matter  of  smallpox. 


192 


EDWARD  JENNER 


subject  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moore,  of  Chalford  Hill,  in  this 
county : 

“ In  the  month  of  November,  1797,  my  horse  had  dis- 
eased heels,  which  was  certainly  what  is  termed  the  grease; 
and  at  a short  subsequent  period  my  cow  was  also  affected 
with  what  a neighbouring  farmer  (who  was  conversant  with 
the  complaints  of  cattle)  pronounced  to  be  the  cow-pox, 
which  he  at  the  same  time  observed  my  servant  would  be 
infected  with:  and  this  proved  to  be  the  case;  for  he  had 
eruptions  on  his  hands,  face,  and  many  parts  of  the  body, 
the  pustules  appearing  large,  and  not  much  like  the  small- 
pox, for  which  he  had  been  inoculated  a year  and  a half 
before,  and  had  then  a very  heavy  burthen.  The  pustules 
on  the  face  might  arise  from  contact  with  his  hands,  as  he 
had  a habit  of  rubbing  his  forehead,  where  the  sores  were 
the  largest  and  the  thickest. 

“ The  boy  associated  with  the  farmer’s  sons  during  the 
continuance  of  the  disease,  neither  of  whom  had  had  the 
smallpox,  but  they  felt  no  ill  effects  whatever.  He  was 
not  much  indisposed,  as  the  disease  did  not  prevent  him 
from  following  his  occupations  as  usual.  No  other  person 
attended  the  horse  or  milked  the  cow  but  the  lad  above 
mentioned.  I am  firmly  of  opinion  that  the  disease  in  the 
heels  of  the  horse,  which  was  a virulent  grease,  was  the 
origin  of  the  servant’s  and  the  cow’s  malady.” 

But  to  return  to  the  more  immediate  object  of  this  propo- 
sition. 

From  the  similarity  of  symptoms,  both  constitutional  and 
local,  between  the  cow-pox  and  the  disease  received  from 
morbid  matter  generated  by  a horse,  the  common  people  in 
this  neighbourhood,  when  infected  with  this  disease,  through 
a strange  perversion  of  terms,  frequently  call  it  the  cow-pox. 
Let  us  suppose,  then,  such  a malady  to  appear  among  some 
of  the  servants  at  a farm,  and  at  the  same  time  that  the 
cow-pox  were  to  break  out  among  the  cattle;  and  let  us 
suppose,  too,  that  some  of  the  servants  were  infected  in 
this  way,  and  that  others  received  the  infection  from  the 
cows.  It  would  be  recorded  at  the  farm,  and  among  the 
servants  themselves  wherever  they  might  afterwards  be 
dispersed,  that  they  had  all  had  the  cow-pox.  But  it  is 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


193 


clear  that  an  individual  thus  infected  from  the  horse  would 
neither  be  for  a certainty  secure  himself,  nor  would  he  im- 
part security  to  others  were  they  inoculated  by  virus  thus 
generated.  He  still  would  be  in  danger  of  taking  the  small- 
pox. Yet  were  this  to  happen  before  the  nature  of  the  cow- 
pox  be  more  maturely  considered  by  the  public  my  evi- 
dence on  the  subject  might  be  depreciated  unjustly.  For 
an  exemplification  of  what  is  here  advanced  relative  to  the 
nature  of  the  infection  when  received  directly  from  the 
horse  see  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  and  Effects  of  the 
Variolae  Vaccinae,  pp.  27,  28,  29,  30,  and  p.  35;  and  by  way 
of  further  example,  I beg  leave  to  subjoin  the  following  in- 
telligence received  from  Mr.  Fewster,  Surgeon,  of  Thorn- 
bury,  in  this  county,  a gentleman-  perfectly  well  acquainted 
with  the  appearances  of  the  cow-pox  on  the  human  subject: 
“ William  Morris,  aged  thirty-two,  servant  to  Mr.  Cox  of 
Almondsbury,  in  this  county,  applied  to  me  the  2d  of  April, 
1798.  He  told  me  that,  four  days  before,  he  found  a stiff- 
ness and  swelling  in  both  his  hands,  which  were  so  painful 
it  was  with  difficulty  he  continued  his  work;  that  he  had 
been  seized  with  pain  in  his  head,  small  of  the  back,  and 
limbs,  and  with  frequent  chilly  fits  succeeded  by  fever.  On 
examination  I found  him  still  affected  with  these  symptoms, 
and  that  there  was  a great  prostration  of  strength.  Many 
parts  of  his  hands  on  the  inside  were  chapped,  and  on  the 
middle  joint  of  the  thumb  of  the  right  hand  there  was  a 
small  phagedenic  ulcer,  about  the  size  of  a large  pea,  dis- 
charging an  ichorous  fluid.  On  the  middle  finger  of  the 
same  hand  there  was  another  ulcer  of  a similar  kind.  These 
sores  were  of  a circular  form,  and  he  described  their  first 
appearance  as  being  somewhat  like  blisters  arising  from  a 
burn.  He  complained  of  excessive  pain,  which  extended 
up  his  arm  into  the  axilla.  These  symptoms  and  appear- 
ances of  the  sores  were  so  exactly  like  the  cow-pox  that  I 
pronounced  he  had  taken  the  distemper  from  milking  cows. 
He  assured  me  he  had  not  milked  a cow  for  more  than  half 
a year,  and  that  his  master’s  cows  had  nothing  the  matter 
with  them.  I then  asked  him  if  his  master  had  a greasy 
horse,  which  he  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  further  said 
that  he  had  constantly  dressed  him  twice  a day  for  the 

(7)  HC  XXXVIII 


194 


EDWARD  JENNER 


last  three  weeks  or  more,  and  remarked  that  the  smell  of 
his  hands  was  much  like  that  of  the  horses’s  heels.  On  the 
5th  of  April  I again  saw  him,  and  found  him  still  complain- 
ing of  pain  in  both  hands,  nor  were  his  febrile  symptoms 
at  all  relieved.  The  ulcers  had  now  spread  to  the  size  of 
a seven-shilling  gold  coin,  and  another  ulcer,  which  I had 
not  noticed  before,  appeared  on  the  first  joint  of  the  fore- 
finger of  the  left  hand,  equally  painful  with  that  on  the 
right.  I ordered  him  to  bathe  his  hands  in  warm  bran  and 
water,  applied  escharotics  to  the  ulcers,  and  wrapped  his 
hands  up  in  a soft  cataplasm.  The  next  day  he  was  much 
relieved,  and  in  something  more  than  a fortnight  got  well. 
He  lost  his  nails  from  the  thumb  and  fingers  that  were 
ulcerated.” 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  the  symptoms  in  this  case 
after  the  application  of  the  escharotics  to  the  sores  is  worthy 
of  observation ; it  seems  to  show  that  they  were  kept  up  by 
the  irritation  of  the  ulcers. 

The  general  symptoms  which  I have  already  described 
of  the  cow-pox,  when  communicated  in  a casual  way  to  any 
great  extent,  will,  I am  convinced,  from  the  many  cases  I 
have  seen,  be  found  accurate ; but  from  the  very  slight  in- 
disposition which  ensues  in  cases  of  inoculation,  where  the 
pustule,  after  affecting  the  constitution,  quickly  runs  into 
a scab  spontaneously,  or  is  artificially  suppressed  by  some 
proper  application,  I am  induced  to  believe  that  the  violence 
of  the  symptoms  may  be  ascribed  to  the  inflammation  and 
irritation  of  the  ulcers  (when  ulceration  takes  place  to 
any  extent,  as  in  the  casual  cow-pox),  and  that  the  consti- 
tutional symptoms  which  appear  during  the  presence  of  the 
sore,  while  it  assumes  the  character  of  a pustule  only,  are 
felt  but  in  a very  trifling  degree.  This  mild  affection  of  the 
system  happens  when  the  disease  makes  but  a slight  local 
impression  on  those  who  have  been  accidentally  infected 
by  cows ; and,  as  far  as  I have  seen,  it  has  uniformly  hap- 
pened among  those  who  have  been  inoculated,  when  a 
pustule  only  and  no  great  degree  of  inflammation  or  any 
ulceration  has  taken  place  from  the  inoculation.  The  fol- 
lowing cases  will  strengthen  this  opinion. 

The  cow-pox  appeared  at  a farm  in  the  village  of  Stone- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


195 


house,  in  this  county,  about  Michaelmas  last,  and  con- 
tinued gradually  to  pass  from  one  cow  to  another  till  the 
end  of  November.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  that  month 
some  ichorous  matter  was  taken  from  a cow  and  dried  upon 
a quill.  On  the  2d  of  December  some  of  it  was  inserted 
into  a scratch,  made  so  superficial  that  no  blood  appeared, 
on  the  arms  of  Susan  Phipps,  a child  seven  years  old.  The 
common  inflammatory  appearances  took  place  in  conse- 
quence, and  advanced  till  the  fifth  day,  when  they  had  so 
much  subsided  that  I did  not  conceive  any  thing  further 
would  ensue. 

6th : Appearances  stationary. 

7th:  The  inflammation  began  to  advance. 

8th:  A vesication,  perceptible  on  the  edges,  forming,  as 
in  the  inoculated  smallpox,  an  appearance  not  unlike  a grain 
of  wheat,  with  the  cleft,  or  indentation  in  the  centre. 

9th : Pain  in  the  axilla. 

10th:  A little  headache;  pulse,  no;  tongue  not  discol- 
oured; countenance  in  health. 

nth,  12th:  No  perceptible  illness;  pulse  about  100. 

13th:  The  pustule  was  now  surrounded  by  an  efflores- 
cence, interspersed  with  very  minute  confluent  pustules  to 
the  extent  of  about  an  inch.  Some  of  these  pustules  ad- 
vanced in  size  and  maturated.  So  exact  was  the  resem- 
blance of  the  arm  at  this  stage  to  the  general  appearance 
of  the  inoculated  smallpox  that  Mr.  D.,  a neighbouring 
surgeon,  who  took  some  matter  from  it,  and  who  had  never 
seen  the  cow-pox  before,  declared  he  could  not  perceive  any 
difference.7  The  child’s  arm  now  shewed  a disposition  to 
scab,  and  remained  nearly  stationary  for  two  or  three  days, 
when  it  began  to  run  into  an  ulcerous  state,  and  then  com- 
menced a febrile  indisposition  accompanied  with  an  in- 
crease of  axillary  tumour.  The  ulcer  continued  spreading 
near  a week,  during  which  time  the  child  continued  ill,  when 

7_That  the  cow-pox  was  a supposed  guardian  of  the  constitution  from  the 
action  of  the  smallpox  has  been  a prevalent  idea  for  a long  time  past;  but 
the  similarity  in  the  constitutional  effects  between  one  disease  and  the  other 
could  never  have  been  so  accurately  observed  had  not  the  inoculation  of  the 
cow-pox  placed  it  in  a new  and  stronger  point  of  view.  This  practice,  too, 
has  shewn  us,  what  before  lay  concealed,  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
pustule  formed  by  the  insertion  of  the  virus,  which  places  in  a most  con- 
spicuous light  its  striking  resemblance  to  the  pustule  formed,  from  the 
inoculated  smallpox. 


196 


EDWARD  JENNER 


it  increased  to  a size  nearly  as  large  as  a shilling.  It  be- 
gan now  to  discharge  pus ; granulations  sprang  up,  and  it 
healed.  This  child  had  before  been  of  a remarkably  sickly 
constitution,  but  is  now  in  very  high  health. 

Mary  Hearn,  twelve  years  of  age,  was  inoculated  with 
matter  taken  from  the  arm  of  Susan  Phipps. 

6th  day : A pustule  beginning  to  appear,  slight  pain  in  the 
axilla. 

7th : A distinct  vesicle  formed. 

8th : The  vesicle  increasing ; edges  very  red ; no  deviation 
in  its  appearance  at  this  time  from  the  inoculated  smallpox. 

9th:  No  indisposition;  pustule  advancing. 

10th:  The  patient  felt  this  evening  a slight  febrile  attack. 

nth:  Free  from  indisposition. 

12th,  13th:  The  same. 

14th:  An  efflorescence  of  a faint  red  colour  extending 
several  inches  round  the  arm.  The  pustule,  beginning  to 
shew  a disposition  to  spread,  was  dressed  with  an  ointment 
composed  of  hydrarg.  nit.  rub.  and  ung.  cerce.  The  efflores- 
cence itself  was  covered  with  a plaster  of  ung.  hydr.  fort.  In 
six  hours  it  was  examined,  when  it  was  found  that  the 
efflorescence  had  totally  disappeared. 

The  application  of  the  ointment  with  the  hydr.  nit.  rub. 
was  made  use  of  for  three  days,  when,  the  state  of  the 
pustule  remaining  stationary,  it  was  exchanged  for  the  ung. 
hydr.  nit.  This  appeared  to  have  a more  active  effect  than 
the  former,  and  in  two  or  three  days  the  virus  seemed  to  be 
subdued,  when  a simple  dressing  was  made  use  of ; but  the 
sore  again  shewing  a disposition  to  inflame,  the  ung.  hydr. 
nit.  was  again  applied,  and  soon  answered  the  intended 
purpose  effectually.  The  girl,  after  the  tenth  day,  when,  as 
has  been  observed,  she  became  a little  ill,  shewed  not  the 
least  symptom  of  indisposition.  She  was  afterwards  ex- 
posed to  the  action  of  variolous  matter,  and  completely  re- 
sisted it.  Susan  Phipps  also  went  through  a similar  trial. 
Conceiving  tlmse  cases  to  be  important,  I have  given  them 
in  detail : first,  to  urge  the  precaution  of  using  such  means 
as  may  stop  the  progress  of  the  pustule;  and,  secondly,  to 
point  out  (what  appears  to  be  the  fact)  that  the  most 
material  indisposition,  or  at  least  that  which  is  felt  most 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


197 


sensibly,  does  not  arise  primarily  from  the  first  action  of 
the  virus  on  the  constitution,  hut  that  it  often  comes  on,  if 
the  pustule  is  left  to  chance,  as  a secondary  disease.  This 
leads  me  to  conjecture,  what  experiment  must  finally  deter- 
mine, that  they  who  have  had  the  smallpox  are  not  after- 
wards susceptible  of  the  primary  action  of  the  cow-pox 
virus;  for  seeing  that  the  simple  virus  itself,  when  it  has 
not  passed  beyond  the  boundary  of  a vesicle,  excites  in  the 
system  so  little  commotion,  is  it  not  probable  the  trifling 
illness  thus  induced  may  be  lost  in  that  which  so  quickly, 
and  oftentimes  so  severely,  follows  in  the  casual  cow-pox 
from  the  presence  of  corroding  ulcers?  This  considera- 
tion induces  me  to  suppose  that  I-  may  have  been  mistaken 
in  my  former  observation  on  this  subject. 

In  this  respect,  as  well  as  many  others,  a parallel  may  be 
drawn  between  this  disease  and  the  smallpox.  In  the  latter, 
the  patient  first  feels  the  effect  of  what  is  called  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  virus.  The  symptoms  then  often  nearly  re- 
tire, when  a fresh  attack  commences,  different  from  the 
first,  and  the  illness  keeps  pace  with  the  progress  of  the 
pustules  through  their  different  stages  of  maturation,  ulcera- 
tion, etc. 

Although  the  application  I have  mentioned  in  the  case  of 
Mary  Hearn  proved  sufficient  to  check  the  progress  of 
ulceration  and  prevent  any  secondary  symptoms,  yet,  after 
the  pustule  has  duly  exerted  its  influence,  I should  prefer 
the  destroying  it  quickly  and  effectually  to  any  other  mode. 
The  term  caustic  to  a tender  ear  (and  I conceive  none  feel 
more  interested  in  this  inquiry  than  the  anxious  guardians 
of  a nursery)  may  sound  harsh  and  unpleasing,  but  every 
solicitude  that  may  arise  on  this  account  will  no  longer 
exist  when  it  is  understood  that  the  pustule,  in  a state  fit 
to  be  acted  upon,  is  then  quite  superficial,  and  that  it  does 
not  occupy  the  space  of  a silver  penny.8 

As  a proof  of  the  efficacy  of  this  practice,  even  before 
the  virus  has  fully  exerted  itself  on  the  system,  I shall  lay 
before  my  reader  the  following  history : 

8 1 mention  escharotics  for  stopping  the  progress  of  the  pustule  because 
I am  acquainted  with  their  efficacy;  probably  more  simple  means  might 
answer  the  purpose  quite  as  well,  such  as  might  be  found  among  the  mineral 
gnd  vegetable  astringents. 


198 


EDWARD  JENNER 


By  a reference  to  the  treatise  on  the  Variolas  Vaccinas 
it  will  be  seen  that,  in  the  month  of  April,  1798,  four  chil- 
dren were  inoculated  with  the  matter  of  cow-pox,  and 
that  in  two  of  these  cases  the  virus  on  the  arm  was  de- 
stroyed soon  after  it  had  produced  a perceptible  sickening. 
Mary  James,  aged  seven  years,  one  of  the  children  alluded 
to,  was  inoculated  in  the  month  of  December  following  with 
fresh  variolous  matter,  and  at  the  same  time  was  exposed 
to  the  effluvia  of  a patient  affected  with  the  smallpox.  The 
appearance  and  progress  of  the  infected  arm  was,  in  every 
respect,  similar  to  that  which  we  generally  observe  when 
variolous  matter  has  been  inserted  into  the  skin  of  a person 
who  has  not  previously  undergone  either  the  cow-pox  or  the 
smallpox.  On  the  eighth  day,  conceiving  there  was  infec- 
tion in  it,  she  was  removed  from  her  residence  among 
those  who  had  not  had  the  smallpox.  I was  now  anxiously 
waiting  the  result,  conceiving,  from  the  state  of  the  girl’s 
arm,  she  would  fall  sick  about  this  time.  On  visiting  her 
on  the  evening  of  the  following  day  (the  ninth)  all  I could 
learn  from  the  woman  who  attended  her  was  that  she  felt 
somewhat  hotter  than  usual  during  the  night,  but  was  not 
restless;  and  that  in  the  morning  there  was  the  faint  ap- 
pearance of  a rash  about  her  wrists.  This  went  off  in  a 
few  hours,  and  was  not  at  all  perceptible  to  me  on  my 
visit  in  the  evening.  Not  a single  eruption  appeared,  the 
skin  having  been  repeatedly  and  carefully  examined.  The 
inoculated  arm  continued  to  make  the  usual  progress  to  the 
end,  through  all  the  stages  of  inflammation,  maturation,  and 
scabbing. 

On  the  eighth  day  matter  was  taken  from  the  arm  of  this 
girl  (Mary  James)  and  inserted  into  the  arms  of  her  mother 
and  brother  (neither  of  whom  had  had  either  the  smallpox 
or  the  cow-pox),  the  former  about  fifty  years  of  age,  the 
latter  six. 

On  the  eighth  day  after  the  insertion  the  boy  felt  indis- 
posed, and  continued  unwell  two  days,  when  a measles-like 
rash  appeared  on  his  hands  and  wrists,  and  was  thinly 
scattered  over  his  arms.  The  day  following  his  body  was 
marbled  over  with  an  appearance  somewhat  similar,  but  he 
did  not  complain,  nor  did  he  appear  indisposed.  A few 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


199 


pustules  now  appeared,  the  greater  part  of  which  went 
away  without  maturating. 

On  the  ninth  day  the  mother  began  to  complain.  She 
was  a little  chilly  and  had  a headache  for  two  days,  but  no 
pustule  appeared  on  the  skin,  nor  had  she  any  appearance 
of  a rash. 

The  family  was  attended  by  an  elderly  woman  as  a nurse, 
who  in  her  infancy  had  been  exposed  to  the  contagion  of 
the  smallpox,  but  had  resisted  it.  This  woman  was  now 
infected,  but  had  the  disease  in  the  slightest  manner,  a very 
few  eruptions  appearing,  two  or  three  of  which  only  ma- 
turated. 

From  a solitary  instance  like  that  adduced  of  Mary  James, 
whose  constitution  appears  to  have  resisted  the  action  of 
the  variolous  virus,  after  the  influence  of  the  cow-pox  virus 
had  been  so  soon  arrested  in  its  progress,  no  positive  con- 
clusion can  be  fairly  drawn ; nor  from  the  history  of  the 
three  other  patients  who  were  subsequently  infected,  but, 
nevertheless,  the  facts  collectively  may  be  deemed  inter- 
esting. 

That  one  mild  variety  of  the  smallpox  has  appeared  I 
have  already  plainly  shewn  ;9  and  by  the  means  now  men- 
tioned we  probably  have  it  in  our  power  to  produce  at  will 
another. 

At  the  time  when  the  pustule  was  destroyed  in  the  arm  of 
Mary  James  I was  informed  she  had  been  indisposed  about 
twelve  hours;  but  I am  now  assured  by  those  who  were 
with  her  that  the  space  of  time  was  much  less.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  in  cases  of  cow-pox  inoculation  I would  not  recom- 
mend any  application  to  subdue  the  action  of  the  pustule 
until  convincing  proofs  had  appeared  of  the  patient’s  hav- 
ing felt  its  effects  at  least  twelve  hours.  No  harm,  indeed, 
could  ensue  were  a longer  period  to  elapse  before  the  appli- 
cation was  made  use  of.  In  short,  it  should  be  suffered  to 
have  as  full  an  effect  as  it  could,  consistently  with  the  state 
of  the  arm. 

As  the  cases  of  inoculation  multiply,  I am  more  and  more 
convinced  of  the  extreme  mildness  of  the  symptoms  arising 

0 See  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  Gnd  Effects  of  the  Variolae  Vaccinae,  p.  54 
(of  original  article). 


200 


EDWARD  JENNER 


merely  from  the  primary  action  of  the  virus  on  the  con- 
stitution, and  that  those  symptoms  which,  as  in  the  acci- 
dental cow-pox,  affect  the  patient  with  severity,  are  entirely 
secondary,  excited  by  the  irritating  processes  of  inflamma- 
tion and  ulceration ; and  it  appears  to  me  that  this  singular 
virus  possesses  an  irritating  quality  of  a peculiar  kind,  but 
as  a single  cow-pox  pustule  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  render 
the  variolous  virus  ineffectual,  and  as  we  possess  the  means 
of  allaying  the  irritation,  should  any  arise,  it  becomes  of 
little  or  no  consequence. 

It  appears  then,  as  far  as  an  inference  can  be  drawn  from 
the  present  progress  of  cow-pox  inoculation,  that  it  is  an 
accidental  circumstance  only  which  can  render  this  a vio- 
lent disease,  and  a circumstance  of  that  nature  which,  for- 
tunately, it  is  in  the  power  of  almost  every  one  to  avoid.  I 
allude  to  the  communication  of  the  disease  from  cows.  In 
this  case,  should  the  hands  of  the  milker  be  affected  with 
little  accidental  sores  to  any  extent,  every  sore  would  be- 
come the  nidus  of  infection  and  feel  the  influence  of  the 
virus;  and  the  degree  of  violence  in  the  constitutional  symp- 
toms would  be  in  proportion  to  the  number  and  to  the  state 
of  these  local  affections.  Hence  it  follows  that  a person, 
either  by  accident  or  design,  might  be  so  filled  with  these 
wounds  from  contact  with  the  virus  that  the  constitution 
might  sink  under  the  pressure. 

Seeing  that  we  possess  the  means  of  rendering  the  action 
of  the  sores  mild,  which,  when  left  to  chance,  are  capable 
of  producing  violent  effects ; and  seeing,  too,  that  these 
sores  bear  a resemblance  to  the  smallpox,  especially  the 
confluent,  should  it  not  encourage  the  hope  that  some  topi- 
cal application  might  be  used  with  advantage  to  counteract 
the  fatal  tendency  of  that  disease,  when  it  appears  in  this 
terrific  form?  At  what  stage  or  stages  of  the  disease  this 
may  be  done  with  the  most  promising  expectation  of  suc- 
cess I will  not  pretend  now  to  determine.  I only  throw  out 
this  idea  as  the  basis  of  further  reasoning  and  experiment. 

I have  often  been  foiled  in  my  endeavours  to  communi- 
cate the  cow-pox  by  inoculation.  An  inflammation  will 
sometimes  succeed  the  scratch  or  puncture,  and  in  a few 
days  disappear  without  producing  any  further  effect.  Some- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


201 


times  it  will  even  produce  an  ichorous  fluid,  and  yet  the 
system  will  not  be  affected.  The  same  thing  we  know  hap- 
pens with  the  smallpox  virus. 

Four  or  five  servants  were  inoculated  at  a farm  contiguous 
to  this  place,  last  summer,  with  matter  just  taken  from  an 
infected  cow.  A little  inflammation  appeared  on  all  their 
arms,  but  died  away  without  producing  a pustule;  yet  all 
these  servants  caught  the  disease  within  a month  after- 
wards from  milking  the  infected  cows,  and  some  of  them 
had  it  severely.  At  present  no  other  mode  than  that  com- 
monly practiced  for  inoculating  the  smallpox  has  been  used 
for  giving  the  cow-pox;  but  it  is  probable  this  might  be 
varied  with  advantage.  We  should  imitate  the  casual  com- 
munication more  clearly  were  we  first,  by  making  the 
smallest  superficial  incision  or  puncture  on  the  skin,  to  pro- 
duce a little  scab,  and  then,  removing  it,  to  touch  the  abraded 
part  with  the  virus.  A small  portion  of  a thread  imbrued 
in  the  virus  (as  in  the  old  method  of  inoculating  the  small- 
pox) and  laid  upon  the  slightly  incised  skin  might  probably 
prove  a successful  way  of  giving  the  disease;  or  the  cutis 
might  be  exposed  in  a minute  point  by  an  atom  of  blistering 
plaster,  and  the  virus  brought  in  contact  with  it.  In  the 
cases  just  alluded  to,  where  I did  not  succeed  in  giving  the 
disease  constitutionally,  the  experiment  was  made  with 
matter  taken  in  a purulent  state  from  a pustule  on  the 
nipple  of  a cow. 

Is  pure  pus,  though  contained  in  a smallpox  pustule,  ever 
capable  of  producing  the  smallpox  perfectly?  I suspect  it 
is  not.  Let  us  consider  that  it  is  always  preceded  by  the 
limpid  fluid,  which,  in  constitutions  susceptible  of  variolous 
contagion,  is  always  infectious;  and  though,  on  opening 
a pustule,  its  contents  may  appear  perfectly  purulent,  yet  a 
given  quantity  of  the  limpid  fluid  may,  at  the  same  time, 
be  blended  with  it,  though  it  would  be  imperceptible  to  the 
only  test  of  our  senses,  the  eye.  The  presence,  then,  of  this 
fluid,  or  its  mechanical  diffusion  through  pus,  may  at  all 
times  render  active  what  is  apparently  mere  pus,  while  its 
total  absence  (as  in  stale  pustules)  may  be  attended  with 
the  imperfect  effects  we  have  seen. 

It  would  be  digressing  too  widely  to  go  far  into  the 


202 


EDWARD  JENNER 


doctrine  of  secretion,  but  as  it  will  not  be  quite  extraneous, 
I shall  just  observe  that  I consider  both  the  pus  and  the 
limpid  fluid  of  the  pustule  as  secretions,  but  that  the  organs 
established  by  nature  to  perform  the  office  of  secreting  these 
fluids  may  differ  essentially  in  their  mechanical  structure. 
What  but  a difference  in  the  organization  of  glandular  bodies 
constitutes  the  difference  in  the  qualities  of  the  fluids 
secreted?  From  some  peculiar  derangement  in  the  struc- 
ture or,  in  other  words,  some  deviation  in  the  natural  action 
of  a gland  destined  to  create  a mild,  innoxious  fluid,  a 
poison  of  the  most  deadly  nature  may  be  created;  for  ex- 
ample : That  gland,  which  in  its  sound  state  secretes  pure 
saliva,  may,  from  being  thrown  into  diseased  action,  pro- 
duce a poison  of  the  most  destructive  quality.  Nature  ap- 
pears to  have  no  more  difficulty  in  forming  minute 
glands  among  the  vascular  parts  of  the  body  than  she  has 
in  forming  blood  vessels,  and  millions  of  these  can  be 
called  into  existence,  when  inflammation  is  excited,  in  a 
few  hours.10 

In  the  present  early  stage  of  the  inquiry  (for  early  it 
certainly  must  be  deemed),  before  we  know  for  an  abso- 
lute certainty  how  soon  the  virus  of  the  cow-pox  may  suf- 
fer a change  in  its  specific  properties,  after  it  has  quitted  the 
limpid  state  it  possesses  when  forming  a pustule,  it  would 
be  prudent  for  those  who  have  been  inoculated  with  it  to 
submit  to  variolous  inoculation.  No  injury  or  inconvenience 
can  accrue  from  this;  and  were  the  same  method  practiced 
among  those  who,  from  inoculation,  have  felt  the  smallpox 
in  an  unsatisfactory  manner  at  any  period  of  their  lives,  it 
might  appear  that  I had  not  been  too  officious  in  offering 
a cautionary  hint  in  recommending  a second  inoculation  with 
matter  in  its  most  perfect  state. 

And  here  let  me  suppose,  for  argument’s  sake  (not  from 
conviction),  that  one  person  in  an  hundred  after  having  had 
the  cow-pox  should  be  found  susceptible  of  the  smallpox, 
would  this  invalidate  the  utility  of  the  practice?  For,  waiv- 
ing all  other  considerations,  who  will  deny  that  the  inoculated 
smallpox,  although  abstractedly  it  may  be  considered  as 

10  Mr.  Home,  in  his  excellent  dissertation  on  pus  and  mucus,  justifies  this 
assertion. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


203 


harmless,  does  not  involve  in  itself  something  that  in  number- 
less instances  proves  baneful  to  the  human  frame. 

That  in  delicate  constitutions  it  sometimes  excites  scrofula 
is  a fact  that  must  generally  be  subscribed  to,  as  it  is  so 
obvious  to  common  observation.  This  consideration  is  im- 
portant. 

the  effects  of  the  smallpox  inoculation  on  those  who 
have  had  the  cow-pox  will  be  watched  with  the  most  scrupu- 
lous eye  by  those  who  prosecute  this  inquiry,  it  may  be 
proper  to  bring  to  their  recollection  some  facts  relative  to 
the  smallpox,  which  I must  consider  here  as  of  consequence, 
but  which  hitherto  seem  not  to  have  made  a due  impression. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  constitution  cannot,  by 
previous  infection,  be  rendered  totally  unsusceptible  of  the 
variolous  poison ; neither  the  casual  nor  the  inoculated  small- 
pox, whether  it  produces  the  disease  in  a mild  or  in  a violent 
way,  can  perfectly  extinguish  the  susceptibility.  The  skin, 
we  know,  is  ever  ready  to  exhibit,  though  often  in  a very 
limited  degree,  the  effects  of  the  poison  when  inserted  there; 
and  how  frequently  do  we  see,  among  nurses,  when  much 
exposed  to  the  contagion,  eruptions,  and  these  sometimes 
preceded  by  sensible  illness ! yet  should  any  thing  like  an 
eruption  appear,  or  the  smallest  degree  of  indisposition,  upon 
fhe  insertion  of  the  variolous  matter  on  those  who  have  gone 
through  the  cow-pox,  my  assertions  respecting  the  peculiar- 
ities of  the  disease  might  be  unjustly  discredited. 

I know  a gentleman  who,  many  years  ago,  was  inoculated 
for  the  smallpox,  but  having  no  pustules,  or  scarcely  any  con- 
stitutional affection  that  was  perceptible,  he  was  dissatisfied, 
and  has  since  been  repeatedly  inoculated.  A vesicle  has 
always  been  produced  in  the  arm  in  consequence,  with  axil- 
lary swelling  and  a slight  indisposition ; this  is  by  no  means 
a rare  occurrence.  It  is  probable  that  fluid  thus  excited  upon 
the  skin  would  always  produce  the  smallpox. 

On  the  arm  of  a person  who  had  gone  through  the  cow- 
pox  many  years  before  I once  produced  a vesication  by  the 
insertion  of  variolous  matter,  and,  with  a little  of  the  fluid, 
inoculated  a young  woman  who  had  a mild,  but  very  effica- 
cious, smallpox  in  consequence,  although  no  constitutional 
effect  was  produced  on  the  patient  from  whom  the  matter 


204 


EDWARD  JENNER 


was  taken.  The  following  communication  from  Mr.  Fewster 
affords  a still  clearer  elucidation  of  this  fact.  Mr.  Fewster 

says:  “On  the  3d  of  April,  1797,  I inoculated  Master  H , 

aged  fourteen  months,  for  the  smallpox.  At  the  usual  time 
he  sickened,  had  a plentiful  eruption,  particularly  on  his  face, 
and  got  well.  His  nursemaid,  aged  twenty-four,  had  many 
years  before  gone  through  the  smallpox,  in  the  natural  way, 
which  was  evident  from  her  being  much  pitted  with  it.  She 
had  used  the  child  to  sleep  on  her  left  arm,  with  her  left 
cheek  in  contact  with  his  face,  and  during  his  inoculation  he 
had  mostly  slept  in  that  manner.  About  a week  after  the 
child  got  well  she  (the  nurse)  desired  me  to  look  at  her  face, 
which  she  said  was  very  painful.  There  was  a plentiful 
eruption  on  the  left  cheek,  but  not  on  any  other  part  of  the 
body,  which  went  on  to  maturation. 

“On  enquiry  I found  that  three  days  before  the  appearance 
of  the  eruption  she  was  taken  with  slight  chilly  fits,  pain  in 
her  head  and  limbs,  and  some  fever.  On  the  appearance  of 
the  eruption  these  pains  went  off,  and  now,  the  second  day 
of  the  eruption,  she  complains  of  a little  sore  throat. 
Whether  the  above  symptoms  are  the  effects  of  the  smallpox 
or  a recent  cold  I do  not  know.  On  the  fifth  day  of  the 
eruption  I charged  a lancet  from  two  of  the  pustules,  and 
on  the  next  day  I inoculated  two  children,  one  two  years,  the 
other  four  months  old,  with  the  matter.  At  the  same  time 
I inoculated  the  mother  and  eldest  sister  with  variolous 

matter  taken  from  Master  H . On  the  fifth  day  of  their 

inoculation  all  their  arms  were  inflamed  alike ; and  on  the 
eighth  day  the  eldest  of  those  inoculated  from  the  nurse 
sickened,  and  the  youngest  on  the  eleventh.  They  had  both  a 
plentiful  eruption,  from  which  I inoculated  several  others, 
who  had  the  disease  very  favourably.  The  mother  and  the 
other  child  sickened  about  the  same  time,  and  likewise  had 
a plentiful  eruption. 

“Soon  after,  a man  in  the  village  sickened  with  the  small- 
pox and  had  a confluent  kind.  To  be  convinced  that  the 
children  had  had  the  disease  effectually  I took  them  to  his 
house  and  inoculated  them  in  both  arms  with  matter  taken 
from  him,  but  without  effect.” 

These  are  not  brought  forward  as  uncommon  occurrences, 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


205 


but  as  exemplifications  of  the  human  system’s  susceptibility 
of  the  variolous  contagion,  although  it  has  been  previously 
sensible  of  its  action. 

Happy  is  it  for  mankind  that  the  appearance  of  the  small- 
pox a second  time  on  the  same  person,  beyond  a trivial 
extent,  is  so  extremely  rare  that  it  is  looked  upon  as  a 
phasnomenon ! Indeed,  since  the  publication  of  Dr.  Heber- 
den’s  paper  on  the  Varicella,  or  chicken-pox,  the  idea  of 
such  an  occurrence,  in  deference  to  authority  so  truly 
respectable,  has  been  generally  relinquished.  This  I conceive 
has  been  without  just  reason;  for  after  we  have  seen,  among 
many  others,  so  strong  a case  as  that  recorded  by  Mr. 
Edward  Withers,  Surgeon,  of  Newbury,  Berks,  in  the  fourth 
volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Medical  Society  of  London 
(from  which  I take  the  following  extracts),  no  one,  I think, 
will  again  doubt  the  fact. 

“Mr.  Richard  Langford,  a farmer  of  West  Shefford,  in 
this  county  (Berks),  about  fifty  years  of  age,  when  about 
a month  old  had  the  smallpox  at  a time  when  three  others 
of  the  family  had  the  same  disease,  one  of  whom,  a servant 
man,  died  of  it.  Mr.  Langford’s  countenance  was  strongly 
indicative  of  the  malignity  of  the  distemper,  his  face  being 
so  remarkably  pitted  and  seamed  as  to  attract  the  notice  of 
all  who  saw  him,  so  that  no  one  could  entertain  a doubt  of 
his  having  had  that  disease  in  a most  inveterate  manner.” 
Mr.  Withers  proceeds  to  state  that  Mr.  Langford  was  seized 
a second  time,  had  a bad  confluent  smallpox,  and  died  on  the 
twenty-first  day  from  the  seizure ; and  that  four  of  the 
family,  as  also  a sister  of  the  patient’s,  to  whom  the  disease 
was  conveyed  by  her  son’s  visiting  his  uncle,  falling 
down  with  the  smallpox,  fully  satisfied  the  country  with 
regard  to  the  nature  of  the  disease,  which  nothing  short  of 
this  would  have  done ; the  sister  died. 

“This  case  was  thought  so  extraordinary  a one  as  to  in- 
duce the  rector  of  the  parish  to  record  the  particulars  in  the 
parish  register.” 

It  is  singular  that  in  most  cases  of  this  kind  the  disease  in 
the  first  instance  has  been  confluent;  so  that  the  extent  of 
the  ulceration  on  the  skin  (as  in  the  cow-pox)  is  not  the 
process  in  nature  which  affords  security  to  the  constitution. 


EDWARD  JENNER 


W6 

As  the  subject  of  the  smallpox  is  so  interwoven  with  that 
which  is  the  more  immediate  object  of  my  present  concern, 
it  must  plead  my  excuse  for  so  often  introducing  it.  At 
present  it  must  be  considered  as  a distemper  not  well  under- 
stood. The  inquiry  I have  instituted  into  the  nature  of  the  cow- 
pox  will  probably  promote  its  more  perfect  investigation. 

The  inquiry  of  Dr.  Pearson  into  the  history  of  the  cow-pox 
having  produced  so  great  a number  of  attestations  in  favour 
of  my  assertion  that  it  proves  a protection  to  the  human 
body  from  the  smallpox,  I have  not  been  assiduous  in  seek- 
ing for  more ; but  as  some  of  my  friends  have  been  so  good 
as  to  communicate  the  following,  I shall  conclude  these 
observations  with  their  insertion. 

Extract  of  a letter  from  Mr.  Drake,  Surgeon,  at  Stroud, 
in  this  county,  and  late  Surgeon  to  the  North  Gloucester 
Regiment  of  Militia : 

“In  the  spring  of  the  year  1796  I inoculated  men,  women, 
and  children  to  the  amount  of  about  seventy.  Many  of  the 
men  did  not  receive  the  infection,  although  inoculated  at  least 
three  times  and  kept  in  the  same  room  with  those  who 
actually  underwent  the  disease  during  the  whole  time  occu- 
pied by  them  in  passing  through  it.  Being  anxious  they 
should,  in  future,  be  secure  against  it,  I was  very  particular 
in  my  inquiries  to  find  out  whether  they  ever  had  previously 
had  it,  or  at  any  time  been  in  the  neighbourhood  of  people 
labouring  under  it.  But,  after  all,  the  only  satisfactory  in- 
formation I could  obtain  was  that  they  had  had  the  cow-pox. 
As  I was  then  ignorant  of  such  a disease  affecting  the  human 
subject,  I flattered  myself  what  they  imagined  to  be  the  cow- 
pox  was  in  reality  the  smallpox  in  a very  slight  degree.  I 
mentioned  the  circumstance  in  the  presence  of  the  officers, 
at  the  time  expressing  my  doubts  if  it  were  not  smallpox, 
and  was  not  a little  surprised  when  I was  told  by  the  Colonel 
that  he  had  frequently  heard  you  mention  the  cow-pox  as 
a disease  endemial  to  Gloucestershire,  and  that  if  a person 
were  ever  affected  by  it,  you  supposed  him  afterwards  secure 
from  the  smallpox.  This  excited  my  curiosity,  and  when  I 
visited  Gloucestershire  I was  very  inquisitive  concerning  the 
subject,  and  from  the  information  I have  since  received, 
both  from  your  publication  and  from  conversation  with  med- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


207 


ical  men  of  the  greatest  accuracy  in  their  observations,  I am 
fully  convinced  that  what  the  men  supposed  to  be  cow-pox 
was  actually  so,  and  I can  safely  affirm  that  they  effectually 
resisted  the  smallpox.” 

Mr.  Fry,  Surgeon,  at  Dursley  in  this  county,  favours  me 
with  the  following  communication: 

“ During  the  spring  of  the  year  1797  I inoculated  fourteen 
hundred  and  seventy-five  patients,  of  all  ages,  from  a fort- 
night old  to  seventy  years ; amongst  whom  there  were  many 
who  had  previously  gone  through  the  cow-pox.  The  exact 
number  I cannot  state ; but  if  I say  there  were  nearly  thirty, 
I am  certainly  within  the  number.  There  was  not  a single 
instance  of  the  variolous  matter  producing  any  constitutional 
effect  on  these  people,  nor  any  greater  degree  of  local  in- 
flammation than  it  would  have  done  in  the  arm  of  a person 
who  had  before  gone  through  the  smallpox,  notwithstanding 
it  was  invariably  inserted  four,  five,  and  sometimes  six 
different  times,  to  satisfy  the  minds  of  the  patients.  In  the 
common  course  of  inoculation  previous  to  the  general  one 
scarcely  a year  passed  without  my  meeting  with  one  or  two 
instances  of  persons  who  had  gone  through  the  cow-pox, 
resisting  the  action  of  the  variolous  contagion.  I may  fairly 
say  that  the  number  of  people  I have  seen  inoculated  with 
the  smallpox  who,  at  former  periods,  had  gone  through  the 
cow-pox,  are  not  less  than  forty ; and  in  no  one  instance  have 
I known  a patient  receive  the  smallpox,  notwithstanding  they 
invariably  continued  to  associate  with  other  inoculated 
patients  during  the  progress  of  the  disease,  and  many  of 
them  purposely  exposed  themselves  to  the  contagion  of  the 
natural  smallpox ; whence  I am  fully  convinced  that  a person 
who  had  fairly  had  the  cow-pox  is  no  longer  capable  of  being 
acted  upon  by  the  variolous  matter. 

“I  also  inoculated  a very  considerable  number  of  those 
who  had  had  a disease  which  ran  through  the  neighbourhood 
a few  years  ago,  and  was  called  by  the  common  people  the 
swine-pox,  not  one  of  whom  received  the  smallpox.11 

“There  were  about  half  a dozen  instances  of  people  who 
never  had  either  the  cow-  or  swine-pox,  yet  did  not  receive 

u This  was  that  mild  variety  of  the  smallpox  which  I have  noticed  in  the 
late  Treatise  on  the  Cow-Pox  (p.  233). 


208 


EDWARD  JENNER 


the  smallpox,  the  system  not  being  in  the  least  deranged,  or 
the  arms  inflamed,  although  they  were  repeatedly  inoculated, 
and  associated  with  others  who  were  labouring  under  the 
disease ; one  of  them  was  the  son  of  a farrier.” 

Mr.  Tierny,  Assistant  Surgeon  of  the  South  Gloucester 
Regiment  of  Militia,  has  obliged  me  with  the  following  in- 
formation : 

“ That  in  the  summer  of  the  year  of  1798  he  inoculated  a 
great  number  of  the  men  belonging  to  the  regiment,  and  that 
among  them  he  found  eleven  who,  from  having  lived  in 
dairies,  had  gone  through  the  cow-pox.  That  all  of  them 
resisted  the  smallpox  except  one,  but  that  on  making  the  most 
rigid  and  scrupulous  enquiry  at  the  farm  in  Gloucestershire, 
where  the  man  said  he  lived  when  he  had  the  disease,  and 
among  those  with  whom,  at  the  same  time,  he  declared  he 
had  associated,  and  particularly  of  a person  in  the  parish, 
whom  he  said  had  dressed  his  fingers,  it  most  clearly  appeared 
that  he  aimed  at  an  imposition,  and  that  he  never  had  been 
affected  with  the  cow-pox.”12  Mr.  Tierny  remarks  that  the 
arms  of  many  who  were  inoculated  after  having  had  the 
cow-pox  inflamed  very  quickly,  and  that  in  several  a little 
ichorous  fluid  was  formed. 

Mr.  Cline,  who  in  July  last  was  so  obliging  at  my  request 
as  to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  cow-pox  virus,  was  kind  enough 
to  give  me  a letter  on  the  result  of  it,  from  which  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract: 


“My  Dear  Sir: 

“ The  cow-pox  experiment  has  succeeded  admirably.  The 
child  sickened  on  the  seventh  day,  and  the  fever,  which  was 
moderate,  subsided  on  the  eleventh.  The  inflammation  aris- 
ing from  the  insertion  of  the  virus  extended  to  about  four 
inches  in  diameter,  and  then  gradually  subsided,  without  hav- 
ing been  attended  with  pain  or  other  inconvenience.  There 
were  no  eruptions. 

“I  have  since  inoculated  him  with  smallpox  matter  in  three 
places,  which  were  slightly  inflamed  on  the  third  day,  and 
then  subsided. 

12  The  public  cannot  be  too  much  upon  their  guard  respecting  persons  of 
this  description. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


209 


“Dr.  Lister,  who  was  formerly  physician  to  the  Smallpox 
Hospital,  attended  the  child  with  me,  and  he  is  convinced  that 
it  is  not  possible  to  give  him  the  smallpox.  I think  the  sub- 
stituting the  cow-pox  poison  for  the  smallpox  promises  to  be 
one  of  the  greatest  improvements  that  has  ever  been  made 
in  medicine;  and  the  more  I think  on  the  subject,  the  more 
I am  impressed  with  its  importance. 

“With  great  esteem 
“I  am,  etc., 

“Henry  Cline. 

"Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields, 

August  2,  1798.” 

From  communications,  with  which  I have  been  favoured 
from  Dr.  Pearson,  who  has  occasionally  reported  to  me  the 
result  of  his  private  practice  with  the  vaccine  virus  in 
London,  and  from  Dr.  Woodville,  who  also  has  favoured 
me  with  an  account  of  his  more  extensive  inoculation 
with  the  same  virus  at  the  Smallpox  Hospital,  it  appears 
that  many  of  their  patients  have  been  affected  with  erup- 
tions, and  that  these  eruptions  have  maturated  in  a man- 
ner very  similar  to  the  variolous.  The  matter  they  made 
use  of  was  taken  in  the  first  instance  from  a cow  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  great  milk  farms  in  London.  Having 
never  seen  maturated  pustules  produced  either  in  my  own 
practice  among  those  who  were  casually  infected  by  cows, 
or  those  to  whom  the  disease  had  been  communicated  by 
inoculation,  I was  desirous  of  seeing  the  effect  of  the  mat- 
ter generated  in  London,  on  subjects  living  in  the  country. 
A thread  imbrued  in  some  of  this  matter  was  sent  to  me, 
and  with  it  two  children  were  inoculated,  whose  cases  I 
shall  transcribe  from  my  notes. 

Stephen  Jenner,  three  years  and  a half  old. 

3d  day:  The  arm  shewed  a proper  and  decisive  inflam- 
mation. 

6th:  A vesicle  arising. 

7th : The  pustule  of  a cherry  colour. 

8th:  Increasing  in  elevation.  A few  spots  now  appear 
on  each  arm  near  the  insertion  of  the  inferior  tendons 
of  the  biceps  muscles.  They  are  very  small  and  of  a 


210 


EDWARD  JENNER 


vivid  red  colour.  The  pulse  natural ; tongue  of  its  natural 
hue ; no  loss  of  appetite  or  any  symptom  of  indisposition. 

9th : The  inoculated  pustule  on  the  arm  this  evening 
began  to  inflame,  and  gave  the  child  uneasiness;  he  cried 
and  pointed  to  the  seat  of  it,  and  was  immediately  after- 
wards affected  with  febrile  symptoms.  At  the  expiration 
of  two  hours  after  the  seizure  a plaster  of  ung.  hydrarg. 
fort,  was  applied,  and  its  effect  was  very  quickly  per- 
ceptible, for  in  ten  minutes  he  resumed  his  usual  looks 
and  playfulness.  On  examining  the  arm  about  three  hours 
after  the  application  of  the  plaster  its  effects  in  subduing 
the  inflammation  were  very  manifest. 

10th : The  spots  on  the  arms  have  disappeared,  but  there 
are  three  visible  in  the  face. 

nth:  Two  spots  on  the  face  are  gone;  the  other  barely 
perceptible. 

13th : The  pustule  delineated  in  the  second  plate  in  the 
Treatise  on  the  Variolas  Vaccinas  is  a correct  representa- 
tion of  that  on  the  child’s  arm  as  it  appears  at  this  time. 

14th:  Two  fresh  spots  appear  on  the  face.  The  pustule 
on  the  arm  nearly  converted  into  a scab.  As  long  as  any 
fluid  remained  in  it  it  was  limpid. 

James  Hill,  four  years  old,  was  inoculated  on  the  same 
day,  and  with  part  of  the  same  matter  which  infected 
Stephen  Jenner.  It  did  not  appear  to  have  taken  effect 
till  the  fifth  day. 

7th:  A perceptible  vesicle:  this  evening  the  patient  became 
a little  chilly ; no  pain  or  tumour  discoverable  in  the  axilla. 

8th : Perfectly  well. 

9th : The  same. 

10th:  The  vesicle  more  elevated  than  I have  been  ac- 
customed to  see  it,  and  assuming  more  perfectly  the  vario- 
lous character  than  is  common  with  the  cow-pox  at  this 
stage. 

nth:  Surrounded  by  an  inflammatory  redness,  about  the 
size  of  a shilling,  studded  over  with  minute  vesicles.  The 
pustule  contained  a limpid  fluid  till  the  fourteenth  day,  after 
which  it  was  incrusted  over  in  the  usual  manner;  but  this  in- 
crustation or  scab  being  accidentally  rubbed  off,  it  was 
slow  in  healing. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


211 


These  children  were  afterwards  fully  exposed  to  the 
smallpox  contagion  without  effect. 

Having  been  requested  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Henry  Hicks, 
of  Eastington,  in  this  county,  to  inoculate  two  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  at  the  same  time  some  of  his  servants  and  the 
people  employed  in  his  manufactory,  matter  was  taken 
from  the  arm  of  this  boy  for  the  purpose.  The  num- 
bers inoculated  were  eighteen.  They  all  took  the  infec- 
tion, and  either  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day  a vesicle  was 
perceptible  on  the  punctured  part.  Some  of  them  began 
to  feel-  a little  unwell  on  the  eighth  day,  but  the  greater 
number  on  the  ninth.  Their  illness,  as  in  the  former  cases 
described,  was  of  short  duration,-  and  not  sufficient  to  in- 
terrupt, but  at  very  short  intervals,  the  children  from  their 
amusements,  or  the  servants  and  manufacturers  from  fol- 
lowing their  ordinary  business. 

Three  of  the  children  whose  employment  in  the  manu- 
factory was  in  some  degree  laborious  had  an  inflammation 
on  their  arms  beyond  the  common  boundary  about  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  day,  when  the  feverish  symptoms,  which 
before  were  nearly  gone  off,  again  returned,  accompanied 
with  increase  of  axillary  tumour.  In  these  cases  (clearly 
perceiving  that  the  symptoms  were  governed  by  the  state 
of  the  arms)  I applied  on  the  inoculated  pustules,  and 
renewed  the  application  three  or  four  times  within  an 
hour,  a pledget  of  lint,  previously  soaked  in  aqua  lythargyri 
acetati,13  and  covered  the  hot  efflorescence  surrounding  them 
with  cloths  dipped  in  cold  water. 

The  next  day  I found  this  simple  mode  of  treatment 
had  succeeded  perfectly.  The  inflammation  was  nearly 
gone  off,  and  with  it  the  symptoms  which  it  had  pro- 
duced. 

Some  of  these  patients  have  since  been  inoculated  with 
variolous  matter,  without  any  effect  beyond  a little  in- 
flammation on  the  part  where  it  was  inserted. 

Why  the  arms  of  those  inoculated  with  the  vaccine  mat- 
ter in  the  country  should  be  more  disposed  to  inflame  than 
those  inoculated  in  London  it  may  be  difficult  to  determine. 
From  comparing  my  own  cases  with  some  transmitted  to 

13  Goulard’s  extract  of  Saturn. 


212 


EDWARD  JENNER 


me  by  Dr.  Pearson  and  Dr.  Woodville,  this  appears  to 
be  the  fact;  and  what  strikes  me  as  still  more  extraordin- 
ary with  respect  to  those  inoculated  in  London  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  maturating  eruptions.  In  the  two  instances 
only  which  I have  mentioned  (the  one  from  the  inoculated, 
the  other  from  the  casual,  cow-pox)  a few  red  spots  ap- 
peared, which  quickly  went  off  without  maturating.  The 
case  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moore’s  servant  may,  indeed,  seem 
like  a deviation  from  the  common  appearances  in  the  coun- 
\ try,  but  the  nature  of  these  eruptions  was  not  ascertained 
beyond  their  not  possessing  the  property  of  communicat- 
ing the  disease  by  their  effluvia.  Perhaps  the  difference 
we  perceive  may  be  owing  to  some  variety  in  the  mode 
of  action  of  the  virus  upon  the  skin  of  those  who  breathe 
the  air  of  London  and  those  who  live  in  the  country.  That 
the  erysipelas  assumes  a different  form  in  London  from 
what  we  see  it  put  on  in  this  country  is  a fact  very  gen- 
erally acknowledged.  In  calling  the  inflammation  that  is 
excited  by  the  cow-pox  virus  erysipelatous,  perhaps  I may 
not  be  critically  exact,  but  it  certainly  approaches  near 
to  it.  Now,  as  the  diseased  action  going  forward  in  the 
part  infected  with  the  virus  may  undergo  different  modi- 
fications according  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  constitution 
on  which  it  is  to  produce  its  effect,  may  it  not  account 
for  the  variation  which  has  been  observed? 

To  this  it  may  probably  be  objected  that  some  of  the 
patients  inoculated,  and  who  had  pustules  in  consequence, 
were  newly  come  from  the  country;  but  I conceive  that 
the  changes  wrought  in  the  human  body  through  the  medium 
of  the  lungs  may  be  extremely  rapid.  Yet,  after  all,  further 
experiments  made  in  London  with  vaccine  virus  generated 
in  the  country  must  finally  throw  a light  on  what  now 
certainly  appears  obscure  and  mysterious. 

The  principal  variation  perceptible  to  me  in  the  action 
of  the  vaccine  virus  generated  in  London  from  that  pro- 
duced in  the  country  was  its  proving  more  certainly  in- 
fectious and  giving  a less  disposition  in  the  arm  to  inflame. 
There  appears  also  a greater  elevation  of  the  pustule  above 
the  surrounding  skin.  In  my  former  cases  the  pustule 
produced  by  the  insertion  of  the  virus  was  more  like  one 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


213 


of  those  which  are  so  thickly  spread  over  the  body  in 
a bad  kind  of  confluent  smallpox.  This  was  more  like  a 
pustule  of  the  distinct  smallpox,  except  that  I saw  no  in- 
stance of  pus  being  formed  in  it,  the  matter  remaining 
limpid  till  the  period  of  scabbing. 

Wishing  to  see  the  effects  of  the  disease  on  an  infant 
newly  born,  my  nephew,  Mr.  Henry  Jenner,  at  my  request, 
inserted  the  vaccine  virus  into  the  arm  of  a child  about 
twenty  hours  old.  His  report  to  me  is  that  the  child 
went  through  the  disease  without  apparent  illness,  yet  that 
it  was  found  effectually  to  resist  the  action  of  variolous 
matter  with  which  it  was  subsequently  inoculated. 

I have  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  the  effects  of  the 
cow-pox  matter  on  a boy,  who;  the  day  preceding  its  in- 
sertion, sickened  with  the  measles.  The  eruption  of  the  i 
measles,  attended  with  cough,  a little  pain  in  the  chest, 
and  the  usual  symptoms  accompanying  the  disease,  ap- 
peared on  the  third  day  and  spread  all  over  him.  The 
disease  went  through  its  course  without  any  deviation  from 
its  usual  habits;  and,  notwithstanding  this,  the  cow-pox 
virus  excited  its  common  appearances,  both  on  the  arm 
and  on  the  constitution,  without  any  febrile  interruption; 
on  the  sixth  day  there  was  a vesicle. 

8th : Pain  in  the  axilla,  chilly,  and  affected  with  headache. 

9th:  Nearly  well. 

12th:  The  pustule  spread  to  the  size  of  a large  split-pea, 
but  without  any  surrounding  efflorescence.  It  soon  after- 
wards scabbed,  and  the  boy  recovered  his  general  health 
rapidly.  But  it  should  be  observed  that  before  it  scabbed 
the  efflorescence  which  had  suffered  a temporary  suspension 
advanced  in  the  usual  manner. 

Here  we  see  a deviation  from  the  ordinary  habits  of 
the  smallpox,  as  it  has  been  observed  that  the  presence  of 
the  measles  suspends  the  action  of  the  variolous  matter. 

The  very  general  investigation  that  is  now  taking  place, 
chiefly  through  inoculation  (and  I again  repeat  my  earnest 
hope  that  it  may  be  conducted  with  that  calmness  and 
moderation  which  should  ever  accompany  a philosophical 
research),  must  soon  place  the  vaccine  disease  in  its  just 
point  of  view.  The  result  of  all  my  trials  with  the  virus 


214 


EDWARD  JENNER 


on  the  human  subject  has  been  uniform.  In  every  instance 
the  patient  who  has  felt  its  influence,  has  completely  lost 
the  susceptibility  for  the  variolous  contagion;  and  as  these 
instances  are  now  become  numerous,  I conceive  that,  joined 
to  the  observations  in  the  former  part  of  this  paper,  they 
sufficiently  preclude  me  from  the  necessity  of  entering  into 
controversies  with  those  who  have  circulated  reports  ad- 
verse to  my  assertions,  on  no  other  evidence  than  what 
has  been  casually  collected. 

Ill 

A Continuation  of  Facts  and  Observations  Relative 
to  the  Variola  Vaccine,  or  Cow-pox.  1800 

Since  my  former  publications  on  the  vaccine  inoculation 
I have  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  extend  very  widely. 
Not  only  in  this  country  is  the  subject  pursued  with  ar- 
dour, but  from  my  correspondence  with  many  respectable 
medical  gentlemen  on  the  Continent  (among  whom  are  Dr. 
De  Carro,  of  Vienna,  and  Dr.  Ballhorn,  of  Hanover)  I 
find  it  is  as  warmly  adopted  abroad,  where  it  has  afforded 
the  greatest  satisfaction.  I have  the  pleasure,  too,  of  see- 
ing that  the  feeble  efforts  of  a few  individuals  to  depreciate 
the  new  practice  are  sinking  fast  into  contempt  beneath 
the  immense  mass  of  evidence  which  has  arisen  up  in 
support  of  it. 

Upwards  of  six  thousand  persons  have  now  been  inocu- 
lated with  the  virus  of  cow-pox,  and  the  far  greater  part 
of  them  have  since  been  inoculated  with  that  of  small- 
pox, and  exposed  to  its  infection  in  every  rational  way 
that  could  be  devised,  without  effect. 

It  was  very  improbable  that  the  investigation  of  a 
disease  so  analogous  to  the  smallpox  should  go  forward 
without  engaging  the  attention  of  the  physician  of  the 
Smallpox  Hospital  in  London. 

1 Accordingly,  Dr.  Woodville,  who  fills  that  department 
with  so  much  respectability,  took  an  early  opportunity 
of  instituting  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  the  cow-pox. 
This  inquiry  was  begun  in  the  early  part  of  the  present 
year,  and  in  May,  Dr.  Woodville  published  the  result. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


21 S 


which  differs  essentially  from  mine  in  a point  of  much 
importance.  It  appears  that  three-fifths  of  the  patients 
inoculated  were  affected  with  eruptions,  for  the  most  part 
so  perfectly  resembling  the  smallpox  as  not  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  them.  On  this  subject  it  is  necessary 
that  I should  make  some  comments. 

When  I consider  that  out  of  the  great  number  of  cases 
of  casual  inoculation  immediately  from  cows  which  from 
time  to  time  presented  themselves  to  my  observation,  and 
the  many  similar  instances  which  have  been  communicated 
to  me  by  medical  gentlemen  in  this  neighbourhood;  when 
I consider,  too,  that  the  matter  with  which  my  inocula- 
tions were  conducted  in  the  years  1797,  ’98,  and  ’99,  was 
taken  from  some  different  cows,  and  that  in  no  instance 
any  thing  like  a variolous  pustule  appeared,  I cannot  feel 
disposed  to  imagine  that  eruptions,  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Woodville,  have  ever  been  produced  by  the 
pure  uncontaminated  cow-pock  virus;  on  the  contrary,  I 
do  suppose  that  those  which  the  doctor  speaks  of  originated 
in  the  action  of  variolous  matter  which  crept  into  the 
constitution  with  the  vaccine.  And  this  I presume  hap- 
pened from  the  inoculation  of  a great  number  of  the  pa- 
tients with  variolous  matter  (some  on  the  third,  others  on 
the  fifth,  day)  after  the  vaccine  had  been  applied;  and 
it  should  be  observed  that  the  matter  thus  propagated  be- 
came the  source  of  future  inoculations  in  the  hands  of 
many  medical  gentlemen  who  appeared  to  have  been  pre- 
viously unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  cow-pox. 

Another  circumstance  strongly,  in  my  opinion,  support- 
ing this  supposition  is  the  following:  The  cow-pox  has 

been  known  among  our  dairies  time  immemorial.  If  pus- 
tules, then,  like  the  variolous,  were  to  follow  the  com- 
munication of  it  from  the  cow  to  the  milker,  would  not 
such  a fact  have  been  known  and  recorded  at  our  farms? 
Yet  neither  our  farmers  nor  the  medical  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood have  noticed  such  an  occurrence. 

A few  scattered  pimples  I have  sometimes,  though  very 
rarely,  seen,  the  greater  part  of  which  have  generally 
disappeared  quickly,  but  some  have  remained  long  enough 
to  suppurate  at  their  apex.  That  local  cuticular  inflam- 


216 


EDWARD  JENNER 


mation,  whether  springing  up  spontaneously  or  arising 
from  the  application  of  acrid  substances,  such  for  instance, 
as  cantharides,  pix  Burgundica,  antimonium  tartarizatum, 
etc.,  will  often  produce  cutaneous  affections,  not  only  near 
the  seat  of  the  inflammation,  but  on  some  parts  of  the 
skin  far  beyond  its  boundary,  is  a well-known  fact.  It  is, 
doubtless,  on  this  principle  that  the  inoculated  cow-pock 
pustule  and  its  concomitant  efflorescence  may,  in  very  ir- 
ritable constitutions,  produce  this  affection.  The  eruption 
I allude  to  has  commonly  appeared  some  time  in  the  third 
week  after  inoculation.  But  this  appearance  is  too  trivial 
to  excite  the  least  regard. 

The  change  which  took  place  in  the  general  appear- 
ance during  the  progress  of  the  vaccine  inoculation  at  the 
Smallpox  Hospital  should  likewise  be  considered. 

Although  at  first  it  took  on  so  much  of  the  variolous 
character  as  to  produce  pustules  in  three  cases  out  of 
five,  yet  in  Dr.  Woodville’s  last  report,  published  in  June, 
he  says : “ Since  the  publication  of  my  reports  of  inocu- 
lations for  the  cow-pox,  upwards  of  three  hundred  cases 
have  been  under  my  care ; and  out  of  this  number  only 
thirty-nine  had  pustules  that  suppurated;  viz.,  out  of  the 
first  hundred,  nineteen  had  pustules;  out  of  the  second, 
thirteen;  and  out  of  the  last  hundred  and  ten,  only  seven 
had  pustules.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  disease  has  be- 
come considerably  milder ; which  I am  inclined  to  attribute 
to  a greater  caution  used  in  the  choice  of  the  matter,  with 
which  the  infection  was  communicated;  for,  lately,  that 
which  has  ' een  employed  for  this  purpose  has  been  taken 
only  from  those  patients  in  whom  the  cow-pox  proved 
very  mild  and  well  characterized.” 1 

The  inference  I am  induced  to  draw  from  these  premises 
is  very  different.  The  decline,  and,  finally,  the  total  ex- 
tinction nearly,  of  these  pustules,  in  my  opinion,  are  more 
fairly  attributable  to  the  cow-pox  virus,  assimilating  the 
variolous,3  the  former  probably  being  the  original,  the  lat- 

1 In  a few  weeks  after  the  cow-pox  inoculation  was  introduced  at  the 
Smallpox  Hospital  I was  favoured  with  some  virus  from  this  stock.  In  the 
first  instance  it  produced  a few  pustules,  which  did  not  maturate;  but  in 
the  subsequerft  cases  none  appeared. — E.  J. 

3 In  my  first  publication  on  this  subject  I expressed  an  opinion  that  the 
smallpox  and  the  cow-pox  were  the  same  diseases  under  different  modifica- 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


217 


ter  the  same  disease  under  a peculiar,  and  at  present  an 
inexplicable,  modification. 

One  experiment  tending  to  elucidate  the  point  under 
discussion  I had  myself  an  opportunity  of  instituting.  On 
the  supposition  of  its  being  possible  that  the  cow  which 
ranges  over  the  fertile  meadows  in  the  vale  of  Gloucester 
might  generate  a virus  differing  in  some  respects  in  its 
qualities  from  that  produced  by  the  animal  artificially  pam- 
pered for  the  production  of  milk  for  the  metropolis,  I pro- 
cured, during  my  residence  there  in  the  spring,  some  cow 
pock  virus  from  a cow  at  one  of  the  London  milk-farms.* 
It  was  immediately  conveyed  into  Gloucestershire  to  Dr. 
Marshall,  who  was  then  extensively  engaged  in  the  inocu- 
lation of  the  cow-pox,  the  general  result  of  which,  and 
of  the  inoculation  in  particular  with  this  matter,  I shall 
lay  before  my  reader  in  the  following  communication  from 
the  doctor: 

“Dear  Sir: 

“ My  neighbour,  Mr.  Hicks,  having  mentioned  your  wish 
to  be  informed  of  the  progress  of  the  inoculation  here  for 
the  cow-pox,  and  he  also  having  taken  the  trouble  to 
transmit  to  you  my  minutes  of  the  cases  which  have  fallen 
under  my  care,  I hope  you  will  pardon  the  further  trouble 
I now  give  you  in  stating  the  observations  I have  made  upon 
the  subject.  When  first  informed  of  it,  having  two  chil- 
dren who  had  not  had  the  smallpox,  I determined  to  inocu- 
late them  for  the  cow-pox  whenever  I should  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  procure  matter  proper  for  the  purpose.  I was,  there- 
fore, particularly  happy  when  I was  informed  that  I could 
procure  matter  from  some  of  those  whom  you  had  in- 
oculated. In  the  first  instance  I had  no  intention  of  extend- 
ing the  disease  further  than  my  own  family,  but  the  very 
extensive  influence  which  the  conviction  of  its  efficacy  in 
resisting  the  smallpox  has  had  upon  the  minds  of  the 
people  in  general  has  rendered  that  intention  nugatory,  as 

tions.  In  this  opinion  Dr.  Woodville  has  concurred.  The  axiom  of  the  im- 
mortal Hauter,  that  two  diseased  actions  cannot  take  place  at  the  same  time 
in  one  and  the  same  part,  will  not  be  injured  by  the  admission  of  this  theory. 

s It  was  taken  by  Mr.  Tanner,  then  a student  at  the  Veterinary  College, 
from  a cow  at  Mr.  Clark’s  farm  at  Kentish  Town. 


218 


EDWARD  JENNER 


you  will  perceive,  by  the  continuation  of  my  cases  enclosed 
in  this  letter,1  by  which  it  will  appear  that  since  the  22d  of 
March  I have  inoculated  an  hundred  and  seven  persons; 
which,  considering  the  retired  situation  I resided  in,  is  a 
very  great  number.  There  are  also  other  considerations 
which,  besides  that  of  its  influence  in  resisting  the  small- 
pox, appear  to  have  had  their  weight;  the  peculiar  mild- 
ness of  the  disease,  the  known  safety  of  it,  and  its  not 
having  in  any  instance  prevented  the  patient  from  fol- 
lowing his  ordinary  business.  In  all  the  cases  under  my 
care  there  have  only  occurred  two  or  three  which  required 
any  application,  owing  to  erysipelatous  inflammation  on 
the  arm,  and  they  immediately  yielded  to  it.  In  the  re- 
mainder the  constitutional  illness  has  been  slight  but  suf- 
ficiently marked,  and  considerably  less  than  I ever  ob- 
served in  the  same  number  inoculated  with  the  smallpox. 
In  only  one  or  two  of  the  cases  have  any  other  eruptions 
appeared  than  those  around  the  spot  where  the  matter  was 
inserted,  and  those  near  the  infected  part.  Neither  does 
there  appear  in  the  cow-pox  to  be  the  least  exciting  cause 
to  any  other  disease,  which  in  the  smallpox  has  been 
frequently  observed,  the  constitution  remaining  in  as  full 
health  and  vigour  after  the  termination  of  the  disease  as 
before  the  infection.  Another  important  consideration  ap- 
pears to  be  the  impossibility  of  the  disease  being  com- 
municated except  by  the  actual  contact  of  the  matter  of  the 
pustule,  and  consequently  the  perfect  safety  of  the  re- 
maining part  of  the  family,  supposing  only  one  or  two 
should  wish  to  be  inoculated  at  the  same  time. 

“ Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  evident  to  me  that  the 
cow-pox  is  a pleasanter,  shorter,  and  infinitely  more  safe 
disease  than  the  inoculated  smallpox  when  conducted  in 
the  most  careful  and  approved  manner ; neither  is  the  local 
affection  of  the  inoculated  part,  or  the  constitutional  ill- 
ness, near  so  violent.  I speak  with  confidence  on  the  sub- 
ject, having  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  its  effects 
upon  a variety  of  constitutions,  from  three  months  old 
to  sixty  years;  and  to  which  I have  paid  particular  at- 

4 Doctor  Marshall  has  detailed  these  cases  with  great  accuracy,  but  their 
publication  would  now  be  deemed  superfluous. — E.  J. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


219 


tention.  In  the  cases  alluded  to  here  you  will  observe  that 
the  removal  from  the  original  source  of  the  matter  had 
made  no  alteration  or  change  in  the  nature  or  appearance 
of  the  disease,  and  that  it  may  be  continued,  ad  infinitum 
(I  imagine),  from  one  person  to  another  (if  care  be  ob- 
served in  taking  the  matter  at  a proper  period)  without 
any  necessity  of  recurring  to  the  original  matter  of  the 
cow. 

“ I should  be  happy  if  any  endeavours  of  mine  could 
tend  further  to  elucidate  the  subject,  and  shall  be  much 
gratified  is  sending  you  any  further  observations  I may 
be  enabled  to  make. 

“ I have  the  pleasure  to  subscribe  myself, 

“ Dear  sir,  etc., 

“Joseph  H.  Marshall. 

“ Eastington,  Gloucestershire,  April  26,  1799.” 

The  gentleman  who  favoured  me  with  the  above  ac- 
count has  continued  to  prosecute  his  inquiries  with  un- 
remitting industry,  and  has  communicated  the  result  in  an- 
other letter,  which  at  his  request  I lay  before  the  public 
without  abbreviation. 

Dr.  Marshall’s  second  letter : 

“ Dear  Sir  : 

“ Since  the  date  of  my  former  letter  I have  continued 
to  inoculate  with  the  cow-pox  virus.  Including  the  cases 
before  enumerated,  the  number  now  amounts  to  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three.  It  would  be  tedious  and  useless 
to  detail  the  progress  of  the  disease  in  each  individual — 
it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  I noticed  no  deviation  in  any 
respect  from  the  cases  I formerly  adduced.  The  general 
appearances  of  the  arm  exactly  corresponded  with  the  ac- 
count given  in  your  first  publication.  When  they  were 
disposed  to  become  troublesome  by  erysipelatous  inflam- 
mation, an  application  of  equal  parts  of  vinegar  and  water 
always  answered  the  desired  intention.  I must  not  omit 
to  inform  you  that  when  the  disease  had  duly  acted  upon 
the  constitution  I have  frequently  used  the  vitriolic  acid. 
A portion  of  a drop  applied  with  the  head  of  a probe  or 


220 


EDWARD  JENNER 


any  convenient  utensil  upon  the  pustule,  suffered  to  re- 
main about  forty  seconds,  and  afterwards  washed  off  with 
sponge  and  water,  never  failed  to  stop  its  progress  and 
expedite  the  formation  of  a scab. 

“ I have  already  subjected  two  hundred  and  eleven  of 
my  patients  to  the  action  of  variolous  matter,  but  every  one 
resisted  it. 

“ The  result  of  my  experiments  (which  were  made  with 
every  requisite  caution)  has  fully  convinced  me  that  the 
true  cow-pox  is  a safe  and  infallible  preventive  from  the 
smallpox;  that  in  no  case  which  has  fallen  under  my  ob- 
servation has  it  been  in  any  considerable  degree  trouble- 
some, much  less  have  I seen  any  thing  like  danger;  for  in 
no  instance  were  the  patients  prevented  from  following 
their  ordinary  employments. 

“ In  Dr.  Woodville’s  publication  on  the  cow-pox  I notice 
an  extraordinary  fact.  He  says  that  the  generality  of 
his  patients  had  pustules.  It  certainly  appears  extremely 
extraordinary  that  in  all  my  cases  there  never  was  but 
one  pustule,  which  appeared  on  a patient’s  elbow  on  the 
inoculated  arm,  and  maturated.  It  appeared  exactly  like 
that  on  the  incised  part. 

“ The  whole  of  my  observations,  founded  as  it  appears 
on  an  extensive  experience,  leads  me  to  these  obvious 
conclusions;  that  those  cases  which  have  been  or  may  be 
adduced  against  the  preventive  powers  of  the  cow-pox 
could  not  have  been  those  of  the  true  kind,  since  it  must 
appear  to  be  absolutely  impossible  that  I should  have  suc- 
ceeded in  such  a number  of  cases  without  a single  ex- 
ception if  such  a preventive  power  did  not  exist.  I cannot 
entertain  a doubt  that  the  inoculated  cow-pox  must  quickly 
supersede  that  of  the  smallpox.  If  the  many  important 
advantages  which  must  result  from  the  new  practice  are 
duly  considered,  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  public  bene- 
fit, the  sure  test  of  the  real  merit  of  discoveries,  will  render 
it  generally  extensive. 

“ To  you,  Sir,  as  the  discoverer  of  this  highly  beneficial 
practice,  mankind  are  under  the  highest  obligations.  As 
a private  individual  I participate  in  the  general  feeling; 
more  particularly  as  you  have  afforded  me  an  opportunity 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


221 


of  noticing  the  effects  of  a singular  disease,  and  of  view- 
ing the  progress  of  the  most  curious  experiment  that  ever 
was  recorded  in  the  history  of  physiology. 

“ I remain,  dear  sir,  etc., 

“ Joseph  H.  Marshall.” 

“ P.S.  I should  have  observed  that,  of  the  patients  I 
inoculated  and  enumerated  in  my  letter,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  were  infected  with  the  matter  you  sent  me 
from  the  London  cow.  I discovered  no  dissimilarity  of 
symptoms  in  these  cases  from  those  which  I inoculated  from 
matter  procured  in  this  country.  No  pustules  have  occurred, 
except  in  one  or  two  cases,  where  a single  one  appeared 
on  the  inoculated  arm.  No  difference  was  apparent  in  the 
local  inflammation.  There  was  no  suspension  of  ordinary 
employment  among  the  labouring  people,  nor  was  any 
medicine  required. 

“ I have  frequently  inoculated  one  or  two  in  a family, 
and  the  remaining  part  of  it  some  weeks  afterwards.  The 
uninfected  have  slept  with  the  infected  during  the  whole 
course  of  the  disease  without  being  affected;  so  that  I 
am  fully  convinced  that  the  disease  cannot  be  taken  but 
by  actual  contact  with  the  matter. 

“ A curious  fact  has  lately  fallen  under  my  observa- 
tion, on  which  I leave  you  to  comment. 

“ I visited  a patient  with  the  confluent  smallpox  and 
charged  a lancet  with  some  of  the  matter.  Two  days 
afterwards  I was  desired  to  inoculate  a woman  and  four 
children  with  the  cow-pox,  and  I inadvertently  took  the 
vaccine  matter  on  the  same  lancet  which  was  before  charged 
with  that  of  smallpox.  In  three  days  I discovered  the  mis- 
take, and  fully  expected  that  my  five  patients  would  be 
infected  with  smallpox;  but  I was  agreeably  surprised  to 
find  the  disease  to  be  genuine  cow-pox,  which  proceeded 
without  deviating  in  any  particular  from  my  former  cases. 
I afterwards  inoculated  these  patients  with  variolous  matter, 
but  all  of  them  resisted  its  action. 

“ I omitted  mentioning  another  great  advantage  that  now 
occurs  to  me  in  the  inoculated  cow-pox;  I mean  the  safety 
with  which  pregnant  women  may  have  the  disease  com- 


222 


EDWARD  JENNER 


municated  to  them.  I have  inoculated  a great  number  of 
females  in  that  situation,  and  never  observed  their  cases 
to  differ  in  any  respect  from  those  of  my  other  patients. 
Indeed,  the  disease  is  so  mild  that  it  seems  as  if  it  might 
at  all  times  be  communicated  with  the  most  perfect  safety.” 

I shall  here  take  the  oportunity  of  thanking  Dr.  Mar- 
shall and  those  other  gentlemen  who  have  obligingly  pre- 
sented me  with  the  result  of  their  inoculations ; but,  as  they 
all  agree  in  the  same  point  as  that  given  in  the  above 
communication,  namely,  the  security  of  the  patient  from  the 
effects  of  the  smallpox  after  the  cow-pox,  their  perusal,  I pre- 
sume, would  afford  us  no  satisfaction  that  has  not  been  am- 
ply given  already.  Particular  occurrences  I shall,  of  course, 
detail.  Some  of  my  correspondents  have  mentioned  the  ap- 
pearance of  smallpox-like  eruptions  at  the  commencement 
of  their  inoculations ; but  in  these  cases  the  matter  was 
derived  from  the  original  stock  at  the  Smallpox  Hospital. 

I have  myself  inoculated  a very  considerable  number 
from  the  matter  produced  by  Dr.  Marshall’s  patients,  origin- 
ating in  the  London  cow,  without  observing  pustules  of 
any  kind,  and  have  dispersed  it  among  others  who  have 
used  it  with  a similar  effect.  From  this  source  Mr.  H. 
Jenner  informs  me  he  has  inoculated  above  an  hundred 
patients  without  observing  eruptions.  Whether  the  na- 
ture of  the  virus  will  undergo  any  change  from  being 
farther  removed  from  its  original  source  in  passing  suc- 
cessively from  one  person  to  another  time  alone  can  de- 
termine. That  which  I am  now  employing  has  been  in 
use  near  eight  months,  and  not  the  least  change  is  per- 
ceptible in  its  mode  of  action  either  locally  or  constitu- 
tionally. There  is,  therefore,  every  reason  to  expect  that  its 
effects  will  remain  unaltered  and  that  we  shall  not  be  under 
the  necessity  of  seeking  fresh  supplies  from  the  cow. 

The  following  observations  were  obligingly  sent  me  by 
Mr.  Tierny,  Assistant  Surgeon  to  the  South  Gloucester 
Regiment  of  Militia,  to  whom  I am  indebted  for  a former 
report  on  this  subject: 

“ I inoculated  with  the  cow-pox  matter  from  the  eleventh 
to  the  latter  part  of  April,  twenty-five  persons,  including 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


223 


women  and  children.  Some  on  the  eleventh  were  inocu- 
lated with  the  matter  Mr.  Shrapnell  (surgeon  to  the  regi- 
ment) had  from  you,  the  others  with  matter  taken  from 
these.  The  progress  of  the  puncture  was  accurately  ob- 
served, and  its  appearance  seemed  to  differ  from  the  small- 
pox in  having  less  inflammation  around  its  basis  on  the 
first  days — that  is,  from  the  third  to  the  seventh ; but  after 
this  the  inflammation  increased,  extending  on  the  tenth 
or  eleventh  day  to  a circle  of  an  inch  and  a half  from  its 
centre,  and  threatening  very  sore  arms;  but  this  I am 
happy  to  say  was  not  the  case;  for,  by  applying  mercurial 
ointment  to  the  inflamed  part,  which  was  repeated  daily 
until  the  inflammation  went  off,  the  arm  got  well  without 
any  further  application  or  trouble.'  The  constitutional  symp- 
toms which  appeared  on  the  eighth  or  ninth  day  after 
inoculation  scarcely  deserved  the  name  of  disease,  as  they 
were  so  slight  as  to  be  scarcely  perceptible,  except  that  I 
could  connect  a slight  headache  and  languor,  with  a stiff- 
ness and  rather  painful  sensation  in  the  axilla.  This  latter 
symptom  was  the  most  striking — it  remained  from  twelve  to 
forty-eight  hours.  In  no  case  did  I observe  the  smallest  pustule, 
or  even  discolouration  of  the  skin,  like  an  incipient  pus- 
tule, except  about  the  part  where  the  virus  has  been  applied. 

“ After  all  these  symptoms  had  subsided  and  the  arms 
were  well,  I inoculated  four  of  this  number  with  variolous 
matter,  taken  from  a patient  in  another  regiment.  In 
each  of  these  it  was  inserted  several  times  under  the  cuti- 
cle, producing  slight  inflammation  on  the  second  or  third 
day,  and  always  disappearing  before  the  fifth  or  sixth, 
except  in  one  who  had  the  cow-pox  in  Gloucestershire  be- 
fore he  joined  us,  and  who  also  received  it  at  this  time 
by  inoculation.  In  this  man  the  puncture  inflamed  and 
his  arm  was  much  sorer  than  from  the  insertion  of  the 
cow-pox  virus ; but  there  was  no  pain  in  the  axilla,  nor  could 
any  constitutional  affection  be  observed. 

“ I have  only  to  add  that  I am  now  fully  satisfied  of 
the  efficacy  of  the  cow-pox  in  preventing  the  appearance 
of  the  smallpox,  and  that  it  is  a most  happy  and  salutary 
substitute  for  it.  I remain,  etc., 

“M.  J.  Tierny” 


224 


EDWARD  JENNER 


Although  the  susceptibility  of  the  virus  of  the  cow- 
pox  is,  for  the  most  part,  lost  in  those  who  have  had  the 
smallpox,  yet  in  some  constitutions  it  is  only  partially 
destroyed,  and  in  others  it  does  not  appear  to  be  in  the 
least  diminished. 

By  far  the  greater  number  on  whom  trials  were  made 
resisted  it  entirely;  yet  I found  some  on  whose  arm  the 
pustule  from  inoculation  was  formed  completely,  but  with- 
out producing  the  common  efflorescent  blush  around  it,  or 
any  constitutional  illness,  while  others  have  had  the  disease 
in  the  most  perfect  manner.  A case  of  the  latter  kind 
having  been  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Fewster,  Surgeon,  of 
Thornbury,  I shall  insert  it: 

“ Three  children  were  inoculated  with  the  vaccine  mat- 
ter you  obligingly  sent  me.  On  calling  to  look  at  their 
arms  three  days  after  I was  told  that  John  Hodges,  one 
of  the  three,  had  been  inoculated  with  the  smallpox  when 
a year  old,  and  that  he  had  a full  burthen,  of  which  his 
face  produced  plentiful  marks,  a circumstance  I was  not 
before  made  acquainted  with.  On  the  sixth  day  the  arm 
of  the  boy  appeared  as  if  inoculated  with  variolous  mat- 
ter, but  the  pustule  was  rather  more  elevated.  On  the 
ninth  day  he  complained  of  violent  pain  in  his  head  and 
back,  accompanied  with  vomiting  and  much  fever.  The 
next  day  he  was  very  well  and  went  to  work  as  usual. 
The  punctured  part  began  to  spread,  and  there  was  the 
areola  around  the  inoculated  part  to  a considerable  extent. 

“ As  this  is  contrary  to  an  assertion  made  in  the  Medical 
and  Physical  Journal,  No.  8,  I thought  it  right  to  give 
you  this  information,  and  remain, 

“ Dear  sir,  etc., 

“J.  Fewster.” 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  animal  economy  with  regard  to 
the  action  of  this  virus  is  under  the  same  laws  as  it  is  with 
respect  to  the  variolous  virus,  after  previously  feeling  its 
influence,  as  far  as  comparisons  can  be  made  between  the 
two  diseases. 

Some  striking  instances  of  the  power  of  the  cow-pox  in 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


22  S 


suspending  the  progress  of  the  smallpox  after  the  patients 
had  been  several  days  casually  exposed  to  the  infection  have 
been  laid  before  me  by  Mr.  Lyford,  Surgeon,  of  Winchester, 
and  my  nephew,  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Jenner.  Mr.  Lyford,  after 
giving  an  account  of  his  extensive  and  successful  practice  in 
the  vaccine  inoculation  in  Hampshire,  writes  as  follows : 

“The  following  case  occurred  to  me  a short  time  since, 
and  may  probably  be  worth  your  notice.  I was  sent  for  to 
a patient  with  the  smallpox,  and  on  inquiry  found  that  five 
days  previous  to  my  seeing  him  the  eruption  began  to  appear. 
During  the  whole  of  this  time  two  children  who  had  not 
had  the  smallpox,  were  constantly  in  the  room  with  their 
father,  and  frequently  on  the  bed  with  him.  The  mother 
consulted  me  on  the  propriety  of  inoculating  them,  but  object- 
ed to  my  taking  the  matter  from  their  father,  as  he  was 
subject  to  erysipelas.  I advised  her  by  all  means  to  have 
them  inoculated  at  that  time,  as  I could  not  procure  any 
variolous  matter  elsewhere.  However,  they  were  inoculated 
with  vaccine  matter,  but  I cannot  say  I flattered  myself  with 
its  proving  successful,  as  they  had  previously  been  so  long 
and  still  continued  to  be  exposed  to  the  variolous  infection. 
Notwithstanding  this  I was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  the 
vaccine  disease  advance  and  go  through  its  regular  course; 
and,  if  I may  be  allowed  the  expression,  to  the  total  extinction 
of  the  smallpox.” 

Mr.  Jenner’s  cases  were  not  less  satisfactory.  He  writes 
as  follows : 

“A  son  of  Thomas  Stinchcomb,  of  Woodford,  near  Berke- 
ley, was  infected  with  the  natural  smallpox  at  Bristol,  and 
came  home  to  his  father’s  cottage.  Four  days  after  the  erup- 
tions had  appeared  upon  the  boy,  the  family  (none  of  which 
had  ever  had  the  smallpox),  consisting  of  the  father,  mother, 
and  five  children,  was  inoculated  with  vaccine  virus.  On  the 
arm  of  the  mother  it  failed  to  produce  the  least  effect,  and 
she,  of  course,  had  the  smallpox,6  but  the  rest  of  the  family 
had  the  cow-pox  in  the  usual  way,  and  were  not  affected 
with  the  smallpox,  although  they  were  in  the  same  room, 
and  the  children  slept  in  the  same  bed  with  their  brother 

6 Under  similar  circumstances  I think  it  would  be  advisable  to  insert  the 
matter  into  each  arm,  which  would  be  more  likely  to  insure  the  success  of 
the  operation. — E.  J. 

(8)  HC  XXXVIII 


226 


EDWARD  JENNER 


who  was  confined  to  it  with  the  natural  smallpox;  and  sub- 
sequently with  their  mother. 

“I  attended  this  family  with  my  brother,  Mr.  H.  Jenner.” 

The  following  cases  are  of  too  singular  a nature  to  remain 
unnoticed. 

Miss  R , a young  lady  about  five  years  old,  was  seized 

on  the  evening  of  the  eighth  day  after  inoculation  with  vac- 
cine virus,  with  such  symptoms  as  commonly  denote  the  acces- 
sion of  violent  fever.  Her  throat  was  also  a little  sore,  and 
there  were  some  uneasy  sensations  about  the  muscles  of  the 
neck.  The  day  following  a rash  was  perceptible  on  her  face 
and  neck,  so  much  resembling  the  efflorescence  of  the  scarla- 
tina anginosa  that  I was  induced  to  ask  whether  Miss  R 

had  been  exposed  to  the  contagion  of  that  disease.  An  an- 
swer in  the  affirmative,  and  the  rapid  spreading  of  the  redness 
over  the  skin,  at  once  relieved  me  from  much  anxiety  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  the  malady,  which  went  through  its  course 
in  the  ordinary  way,  but  not  without  symptoms  which  were 
alarming  both  to  myself  and  Mr.  Lyford,  who  attended  with 
me.  There  was  no  apparent  deviation  in  the  ordinary  prog- 
ress of  the  pustule  to  a state  of  maturity  from  what  we  see 
in  general ; yet  there  was  a total  suspension  of  the  areola  or 
florid  discolouration  around  it,  until  the  scarlatina  had  retired 
from  the  constitution.  As  soon  as  the  patient  was  freed  from 
this  disease  this  appearance  advanced  in  the  usual  way.® 

The  case  of  Miss  H R—  is  not  less  interesting  than 

that  of  her  sister,  above  related.  She  was  exposed  to  the 
contagion  of  the  scarlatina  at  the  same  time,  and  sickened 
almost  at  the  same  hour.  The  symptoms  continued  severe 
about  twelve  hours,  when  the  scarlatina-rash  shewed  itself 
faintly  upon  her  face,  and  partly  upon  her  neck.  After  re- 
maining two  or  three  hours  it  suddenly  disappeared,  and  she 
became  perfectly  free  from  every  complaint.  My  surprise 
at  this  sudden  transition  from  extreme  sickness  to  health  in 
great  measure  ceased  when  I observed  that  the  inoculated 
pustule  had  occasioned,  in  this  case,  the  common  efflorescent 

0 I witnessed  a similar  fact  in  a case  of  measles.  The  pustule  from  the 
cow-pock  virus  advanced  to  maturity,  while  the  measles  existed  in  the  con- 
stitution, but  no  efflorescence  appeared  around  it  until  the  measles  had  ceased 
to  exert  its  influence. 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


227 


appearance  around  it,  and  that  as  it  approached  the  centre  it 
was  nearly  in  an  erysipelatous  state.  But  the  most  remark- 
able part  of  this  history  is  that,  on  the  fourth  day  afterwards, 
so  soon  as  the  efflorescence  began  to  die  away  upon  the  arm 
and  the  pustule  to  dry  up,  the  scarlatina  again  appeared,  her 
throat  became  sore,  the  rash  spread  all  over  her.  She  went 
fairly  through  the  disease  with  its  common  symptoms. 

That  these  were  actually  cases  of  scarlatina  was  rendered 
certain  by  two  servants  in  the  family  falling  ill  at  the  same 
time  with  the  distemper,  who  had  been  exposed  to  the  infec- 
tion with  the  young  ladies. 

Some  there  are  who  suppose  the  security  from  the  small- 
pox obtained  through  the  cow-pox  will  be  of  a temporary 
nature  only.  This  supposition  is  refuted  not  only  by  analogy 
with  respect  to  the  habits  of  diseases  of  a similar  nature, 
but  by  incontrovertible  facts,  which  appear  in  great  numbers 
against  it.  To  those  already  adduced  in  the  former  part  of 
my  first  treatise7  many  more  might  be  adduced  were  it  deemed 
necessary;  but  among  the  cases  I refer  to,  one  will  be  found 
of  a person  who  had  the  cow-pox  fifty-three  years  before  the 
effect  of  the  smallpox  was  tried  upon  him.  As  he  completely 
resisted  it,  the  intervening  period  I conceive  must  necessarily 
satisfy  any  reasonable  mind.  Should  further  evidence  be 
thought  necessary,  I shall  observe  that,  among  the  cases  pre- 
sented to  me  by  Mr.  Fry,  Mr.  Darke,  Mr.  Tierny,  Mr.  H. 
Jenner,  and  others,  there  were  many  whom  they  inoculated 
ineffectually  with  variolous  matter,  who  had  gone  through 
the  cow-pox  many  years  before  this  trial  was  made. 

It  has  been  imagined  that  the  cow-pox  is  capable  of  being 
communicated  from  one  person  to  another  by  effluvia  without 
the  intervention  of  inoculation.  My  experiments,  made  with 
the  design  of  ascertaining  this  important  point,  all  tend  to 
establish  my  original  position,  that  it  is  not  infectious  except 
by  contact.  I have  never  hesitated  to  suffer  those  on  whose 
arms  there  were  pustules  exhaling  the  effluvia  from  associat- 
ing or  even  sleeping  with  others  who  never  had  experienced 
either  the  cow-pox  or  the  smallpox.  And,  further,  I have 
repeatedly,  among  children,  caused  the  uninfected  to  breathe 

1 See  pages  217,  218,  219,  221.  223,  etc. 


228 


EDWARD  JENNER 


over  the  inoculated  vaccine  pustules  during  their  whole  prog- 
ress, yet  these  experiments  were  tried  without  the  least  effect. 
However,  to  submit  a matter  so  important  to  a still  further 
scrutiny,  I desired  Mr.  H.  Jenner  to  make  any  further  experi- 
ments which  might  strike  him  as  most  likely  to  establish  or  re- 
fute what  had  been  advanced  on  this  subject.  He  has  since 
informed  me  “that  he  inoculated  children  at  the  breast,  whose 
mothers  had  not  gone  through  either  the  smallpox  or  the 
cow-pox;  that  he  had  inoculated  mothers  whose  sucking  in- 
fants had  never  undergone  either  of  these  diseases;  that  the 
effluvia  from  the  inoculated  pustules,  in  either  case,  had  been 
inhaled  from  day  to  day  during  the  whole  progress  of  their 
maturation,  and  that  there  was  not  the  least  perceptible  effect 
from  these  exposures.  One  woman  he  inoculated  about  a 
week  previous  to  her  accouchement , that  her  infant  might 
be  the  more  fully  and  conveniently  exposed  to  the  pustule; 
but,  as  in  the  former  instances,  no  infection  was  given, 
although  the  child  frequently  slept  on  the  arm  of  its  mother 
with  its  nostrils  and  mouth  exposed  to  the  pustule  in  the 
fullest  state  of  maturity.  In  a word,  is  it  not  impossible  for 
the  cow-pox,  whose  only  manifestation  appears  to  consist  in 
the  pustules  created  hy  contact,  to  produce  itself  by  effluvia? 

In  the  course  of  a late  inoculation  I observed  an  appear- 
ance which  it  may  be  proper  here  to  relate.  The  punctured 
part  on  a boy’s  arm  (who  was  inoculated  with  fresh  limpid 
virus)  on  the  sixth  day,  instead  of  shewing  a beginning 
vesicle,  which  is  usual  in  the  cow-pox  at  that  period,  was 
encrusted  over  with  a rugged,  amber-coloured  scab.  The 
scab  continued  to  spread  and  increase  in  thickness  for  some 
days,  when,  at  its  edges,  a vesicated  ring  appeared,  and  the 
disease  went  through  its  ordinary  course,  the  boy  having  had 
soreness  in  the  axilla  and  some  slight  indisposition.  With 
the  fluid  matter  taken  from  his  arm  five  persons  were  inocu- 
lated. In  one  it  took  no  effect.  In  another  it  produced  a 
perfect  pustule  without  any  deviation  from  the  common 
appearance;  but  in  the  other  three  the  progress  of  the  in- 
flammation was  exactly  similar  to  the  instance  which  afforded 
the  virus  for  their  inoculation ; there  was  a creeping  scab  of 
a loose  texture,  and  subsequently  the  formation  of  limpid  fluid 
at  its  edges.  As  these  people  were  all  employed  in  laborious 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


229 


exercises,  it  is  possible  that  these  anomalous  appearances 
might  owe  their  origin  to  the  friction  of  the  clothes  on  the 
newly  inflamed  part  of  the  arm.  I have  not  yet  had  an 
opportunity  of  exposing  them  to  the  smallpox. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  inquiry  I felt  far  more  anxious 
respecting  the  inflammation  of  the  inoculated  arm  than  at 
present ; yet  that  this  affection  will  go  on  to  a greater  extent 
than  could  be  wished  is  a circumstance  sometimes  to  be  ex- 
pected. As  this  can  be  checked,  or  even  entirely  subdued,  by 
very  simple  means,  I see  no  reason  why  the  patient  should 
feel  an  uneasy  hour  because  an  application  may  not  be  abso- 
lutely necessary.  About  the  tenth  or  eleventh  day,  if  the 
pustule  has  proceeded  regularly,  the  appearance  of  the  arm 
will  almost  to  a certainty  indicate  whether  this  is  to  be  ex- 
pected or  not.  Should  it  happen,  nothing  more  need  be  done 
than  to  apply  a single  drop  of  the  aqua  lythargyri  acetati 8 
upon  the  pustule,  and,  having  suffered  it  to  remain  two  or 
three  minutes,  to  cover  the  efflorescence  surrounding  the  pus- 
tule with  a piece  of  linen  dipped  in  the  aqua  lythargyri 
compos.9  The  former  may  be  repeated  twice  or  thrice  during 
the  day,  the  latter  as  often  as  it  may  feel  agreeable  to  the 
patient. 

When  the  scab  is  prematurely  rubbed  off  (a  circumstance 
not  unfrequent  among  children  and  working  people),  the 
application  of  a little  aqua  lythargyri  acet.  to  the  part  imme- 
diately coagulates  the  surface,  which  supplies  its  place,  and 
prevents  a sore. 

In  my  former  treatises  on  this  subject  I have  remarked 
that  the  human  constitution  frequently  retains  its  susceptibil- 
ity to  the  smallpox  contagion  (both  from  effluvia  and  contact) 
after  previously  feeling  its  influence.  In  further  corrobora- 
tion of  this  declaration  many  facts  have  been  communicated 
to  me  by  various  correspondents.  I shall  select  one  of  them. 

“Dear  Sir: 

“ Society  at  large  must,  I think,  feel  much  indebted  to 
you  for  your  Inquiries  and  Observations  on  the  Nature  and 
Effects  of  the  Variolse  Vaccinas,  etc.,  etc.  As  I conceive 

s Extract  of  Saturn. 

9 Goulard  water.  For  further  information  on  this  subject  see  the  first 
Treatise  on  the  Varc  Vac.,  Dr.  Marshall’s  letters,  etc. 


230 


EDWARD  JENNER 


what  I am  now  about  to  communicate  to  be  of  some  im- 
portance, I imagine  it  cannot  be  uninteresting  to  you,  espe- 
cially as  it  will  serve  to  corroborate  your  assertion  of  the 
susceptibility  of  the  human  system  of  the  variolous  con- 
tagion, although  it  has  previously  been  made  sensible  of  its 
action.  In  November,  1793,  I was  desired  to  inoculate  a 
person  with  the  smallpox.  I took  the  variolous  matter 
from  a child  under  the  disease  in  the  natural  way,  who 
had  a large  burthen  of  distinct  pustules.  The  mother  of 
the  child  being  desirous  of  seeing  my  method  of  communi- 
cating the  disease  by  inoculation,  after  having  opened  a 
pustule,  I introduced  the  point  of  my  lancet  in  the  usual  way 
on  the  back  part  of  my  own  hand,  and  thought  no  more  of 
it  until  I felt  a sensation  in  the  part  which  reminded  me 
of  the  transaction.  This  happened  upon  the  third  day;  on 
the  fourth  there  were  all  the  appearances  common  to  inocu- 
lation, at  which  I was  not  at  all  surprised,  nor  did  I feel 
myself  uneasy  upon  perceiving  the  inflammation  continue  to 
increase  to  the  sixth  and  seventh  day,  accompanied  with  a 
very  small  quantity  of  fluid,  repeated  experiments  having 
taught  me  it  might  happen  so  with  persons  who  had  under- 
gone the  disease,  and  yet  would  escape  any  constitutional 
affection ; but  I was  not  so  fortunate ; for  on  the  eighth  day 
I was  seized  with  all  the  symptoms  of  the  eruptive  fever, 
but  in  a much  more  violent  degree  than  when  I was  before 
inoculated,  which  was  about  eighteen  years  previous  to 
this,  when  I had  a considerable  number  of  pustules.  I 
must  confess  I was  now  greatly  alarmed,  although  I had 
been  much  engaged  in  the  smallpox,  having  at  different 
times  inoculated  not  less  than  two  thousand  persons.  I 
was  convinced  my  present  indisposition  proceeded  from  the 
insertion  of  the  variolous  matter,  and,  therefore,  anxiously 
looked  for  an  eruption.  On  the  tenth  day  I felt  a very  un- 
pleasant sensation  of  stillness  and  heat  on  each  side  of  my 
face  near  my  ear,  and  the  fever  began  to  decline.  The  af- 
fection in  my  face  soon  terminated  in  three  or  four  pustules 
attended  with  inflammation,  but  which  did  not  maturate,  and 
I was  presently  well. 

“ I remain,  dear  sir,  etc., 

“Thomas  Miles." 


VACCINATION  AGAINST  SMALLPOX 


231 


This  inquiry  is  not  now  so  much  in  its  infancy  as  to  re- 
strain me  from  speaking  more  positively  than  formerly  on 
the  important  point  of  scrophula  as  connected  with  the 
smallpox. 

Every  practitioner  in  medicine  who  has  extensively  in- 
oculated with  the  smallpox,  or  has  attended  many  of  those 
who  have  had  the  distemper  in  the  natural  way,  must  ac- 
knowledge that  he  has  frequently  seen  scrophulous  affections, 
in  some  form  or  another,  sometimes  rather  quickly  shewing 
themselves  after  the  recovery  of  the  patients.  Conceiving 
this  fact  to  be  admitted,  as  I presume  it  must  be  by  all  who 
have  carefully  attended  to  the  subject,  may  I not  ask  whether 
it  does  not  appear  probable  that  the  general  introduction  of 
the  smallpox  into  Europe  has  not  been  among  the  most 
conductive  means  in  exciting  that  formidable  foe  to  health? 
Having  attentively  watched  the  effects  of  the  cow-pox  in 
this  respect,  I am  happy  in  being  able  to  declare  that  the 
disease  does  not  appear  to  have  the  least  tendency  to  pro- 
duce this  destructive  malady. 

The  scepticism  that  appeared,  even  among  the  most  en- 
lightened of  medical  men  when  my  sentiments  on  the  im- 
portant subject  of  the  cow-pox  were  first  promulgated,  was 
highly  laudable.  To  have  admitted  the  truth  of  a doctrine, 
at  once  so  novel  and  so  unlike  any  thing  that  ever  had  ap- 
peared in  the  annals  of  medicine,  without  the  test  of  the 
most  rigid  scrutiny,  would  have  bordered  upon  temerity;  but 
now,  when  that  scrutiny  has  taken  place,  not  only  among 
ourselves,  but  in  the  first  professional  circles  in  Europe,  and 
when  it  has  been  uniformly  found  in  such  abundant  instances 
that  the  human  frame,  when  once  it  has  felt  the  influence 
of  the  genuine  cow-pox  in  the  way  that  has  been  described, 
is  never  afterwards  at  any  period  of  its  existence  assailable 
by  the  smallpox,  may  I not  with  perfect  confidence  con- 
gratulate my  country  and  society  at  large  on  their  beholding, 
in  the  mild  form  of  the  cow-pox,  an  antidote  that  is  capable 
of  extirpating  from  the  earth  a disease  which  is  every  hour 
devouring  its  victims ; a disease  that  has  ever  been  con- 
sidered as  the  severest  scourge  of  the  human  race! 


THE  CONTAGIOUSNESS  OF 
PUERPERAL  FEVER 

BY 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, August  29,  1809,  and  educated  at  Phillips  Academy,  An- 
dover, and  Harvard  College.  After  graduation,  he  entered  the 
Law  School,  but  soon  gave  up  law  for  medicine.  He  studied 
first  in  Boston,  and  later  spent  two  years  in  medical  schools  in 
Europe,  mainly  in  Paris.  On  his  return  he  began  to  practise  in 
Boston,  but  in  two  years  he  was  appointed  professor  of  anatomy 
at  Dartmouth  College , a position  which  he  held  from  1838  to 
1840,  when  he  again  took  up  his  Boston  practise.  It  was  soon 
after  this,  in  1843,  that  he  published  his  essay  on  the  “Contagious- 
ness of  Puerperal  Fever,”  his  only  contribution  of  high  distinction 
to  medical  science.  From  1847  to  1882  he  was  Parkman  professor 
of  anatomy  and  physiology  in  the  Harvard  Medical  School.  He 
died  in  Boston,  October  7,  1894. 

In  spite  of  the  importance  of  the  paper  here  printed,  Holmes’s 
reputation  as  a scientist  was  overshadowed  by  that  won  by  him 
as  a wit  and  a man  of  letters.  When  he  was  only  twenty-one 
his  “ Old  Ironsides”  brought  him  into  notice;  and  through  his 
poetry  and  fiction,  and  the  sparkling  talk  of  the  “Breakfast 
Table”  series,  he  took  a high  place  among  the  most  distinguished 
group  of  writers  that  America  has  yet  produced. 


234 


THE  CONTAGIOUSNESS  OF 
PUERPERAL  FEVER 


IN  collecting,  enforcing  and  adding  to  the  evidence  ac- 
cumulated upon  this  most  serious  subject,  I would  not 
be  understood  to  imply  that  there  exists  a doubt  in 
the  mind  of  any  well-informed  member  of  the  medical 
profession  as  to  the  fact  that  puerperal  fever  is  some- 
times communicated  from  one  person  to  another,  both  di- 
rectly and  indirectly.  In  the  present  state  of  our  knowl- 
edge upon  this  point  I should  consider  such  doubts  merely 
as  a proof  that  the  sceptic  had  either  not  examined  the 
evidence,  or,  having  examined  it,  refused  to  accept  its 
plain  and  unavoidable  consequences.  I should  be  sorry  to 
think,  with  Dr.  Rigby,  that  it  was  a case  of  “ oblique 
vision  ” ; I should  be  unwilling  to  force  home  the  argumen- 
tum  ad  hominem  of  Dr.  Blundell,  but  I would  not  consent 
to  make  a question  of  a momentous  fact  which  is  no  longer 
to  be  considered  as  a subject  for  trivial  discussions,  but 
to  be  acted  upon  with  silent  promptitude.  It  signifies  noth- 
ing that  wise  and  experienced  practitioners  have  sometimes 
doubted  the  reality  of  the  danger  in  question;  no  man  has 
the  right  to  doubt  it  any  longer.  No  negative  facts,  no 
opposing  opinions,  be  they  what  they  may,  or  whose  they 
may,  can  form  any  answer  to  the  series  of  cases  now 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  choose  to  explore  the  records 
of  medical  science. 

If  there  are  some  who  conceive  that  any  important  end 
would  be  answered  by  recording  such  opinions,  or  by  col- 
lecting the  history  of  all  the  cases  they  could  find  in  which 
no  evidence  of  the  influence  of  contagion  existed,  I believe 
they  are  in  error.  Suppose  a few  writers  of  authority  can 

Note. — This  essay  appeared  first  in  1843,  in  The  New  England  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Medicine,  and  was  reprinted  in  the  “ Medical  Essays  ” in  1855, 

235 


236 


Q.  W.  HOLMES 


be  found  to  profess  a disbelief  in  contagion, — and  they 
are  very  few  compared  with  those  who  think  differently, 
— is  it  quite  clear  that  they  formed  their  opinions  on  a 
view  of  all  the  facts,  or  is  it  not  apparent  that  they  re- 
lied mostly  on  their  own  solitary  experience?  Still  further, 
of  those  whose  names  are  quoted,  is  it  not  true  that  scarcely 
a single  one  could,  by  any  possibility,  have  known  the  half 
or  the  tenth  of  the  facts  bearing  on  the  subject  which  have 
reached  such  a frightful  amount  within  the  last  few  years? 
Again,  as  to  the  utility  of  negative  facts,  as  we  may  briefly 
call  them, — instances,  namely,  in  which  exposure  has  not 
been  followed  by  disease, — although,  like  other  truths,  they 
may  be  worth  knowing,  I do  not  see  that  they  are  like 
to  shed  any  important  light  upon  the  subject  before  us. 
Every  such  instance  requires  a good  deal  of  circumstantial 
explanation  before  it  can  be  accepted.  It  is  not  enough  that 
a practitioner  should  have  had  a single  case  of  puerperal 
fever  not  followed  by  others.  It  must  be  known  whether 
he  attended  others  while  this  case  was  in  progress,  whether 
he  went  directly  from  one  chamber  to  others,  whether  he 
took  any,  and  what,  precautions.  It  is  important  to  know  that 
several  women  were  exposed  to  infection  derived  from  the 
patient,  so  that  allowance  may  be  made  for  want  of  predis- 
position. Now,  if  of  negative  facts  so  sifted  there  could  be 
accumulated  a hundred  for  every  one  plain  instance  of 
communication  here  recorded,  I trust  it  need  not  be  said 
that  we  are  bound  to  guard  and  watch  over  the  hundredth 
tenant  of  our  fold,  though  the  ninety  and  nine  may  be  sure 
of  escaping  the  wolf  at  its  entrance.  If  any  one  is  disposed, 
then,  to  take  a hundred  instances  of  lives,  endangered  or 
sacrificed  out  of  those  I have  mentioned,  and  make  it  reason- 
ably clear  that  within  a similar  time  and  compass  ten 
thousand  escaped  the  same  exposure,  I shall  thank  him  for 
his  industry,  but  I must  be  permitted  to  hold  to  my  own 
practical  conclusions,  and  beg  him  to  adopt  or  at  least  to 
examine  them  also.  Children  that  walk  in  calico  before 
open  fires  are  not  always  burned  to  death;  the  instances  to 
the  contrary  may  be  worth  recording;  but  by  no  means  if 
they  are  to  be  used  as  arguments  against  woollen  frocks  and 
high  fenders. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


237 


I am  not  sure  that  this  paper  will  escape  another  remark 
which  it  might  be  wished  were  founded  in  justice.  It  may 
be  said  that  the  facts  are  too  generally  known  and  acknowl- 
edged to  require  any  formal  argument  or  exposition,  that 
there  is  nothing  new  in  the  positions  advanced,  and  no  need 
of  laying  additional  statements  before  the  profession.  But  on 
turning  to  two  works,  one  almost  universally,  and  the  other 
extensively,  appealed  to  as  authority  in  this  country,  I see 
ample  reason  to  overlook  this  objection.  In  the  last  edition 
of  Dewees’s  Treatise  on  the  “ Diseases  of  Females  ” it  is 
expressly  said,  “ In  this  country,  under  no  circumstance  that 
puerperal  fever  has  appeared  hitherto,  does  it  afford  the 
slightest  ground  for  the  belief  that  it  is  contagious.”  In  the 
“ Philadelphia  Practice  of  Midwifery  ” not  one  word  can 
be  found  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  this  disease  which  would 
lead  the  reader  to  suspect  that  the  idea  of  contagion  had 
ever  been  entertained.  It  seems  proper,  therefore,  to  remind 
those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  referring  to  the  works  for 
guidance  that  there  may  possibly  be  some  sources  of  danger 
they  have  slighted  or  omitted,  quite  as  important  as  a trifl- 
ing irregularity  of  diet,  or  a confined  state  of  the  bowels, 
and  that  whatever  confidence  a physician  may  have  in  his 
own  mode  of  treatment,  his  services  are  of  questionable 
value  whenever  he  carries  the  bane  as  well  as  the  antidote 
about  his  person. 

The  practical  point  to  be  illustrated  is  the  following:  The 
disease  known  as  puerperal  fever  is  so  far  contagious  as  to 
be  frequently  carried  from  patient  to  patient  by  physicians 
and  nurses. 

Let  me  begin  by  throwing  out  certain  incidental  questions, 
which,  without  being  absolutely  essential,  would  render  the 
subject  more  complicated,  and  by  making  such  concessions 
and  assumptions  as  may  be  fairly  supposed  to  be  without  the 
pale  of  discussion. 

i.  It  is  granted  that  all  the  forms  of  what  is  called  puer- 
peral fever  may  not  be,  and  probably  are  not,  equally  contag- 
ious or  infectious.  I do  not  enter  into  the  distinctions  which 
have  been  drawn  by  authors,  because  the  facts  do  not  appear 
to  me  sufficient  to  establish  any  absolute  line  of  demarcation 
between  such  forms  as  may  be  propagated  by  contagion  and 


238 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


those  which  are  never  so  propagated.  This  general  result  I 
shall  only  support  by  the  authority  of  Dr.  Ramsbotham,  who 
gives,  as  the  result  of  his  experience,  that  the  same  symptoms 
belong  to  what  he  calls  the  infectious  and  the  sporadic  forms 
of  the  disease,  and  the  opinion  of  Armstrong  in  his  original 
Essay.  If  others  can  show  any  such  distinction,  I leave  it  to 
them  to  do  it.  But  there  are  cases  enough  that  show  the 
prevalence  of  the  disease  among  the  patients  of  a single  prac- 
titioner when  it  was  in  no  degree  epidemic,  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  term.  I may  refer  to  those  of  Mr.  Roberton 
and  of  Dr.  Peirson,  hereafter  to  be  cited,  as  examples. 

2.  I shall  not  enter  into  any  dispute  about  the  particular 
mode  of  infection,  whether  it  be  by  the  atmosphere  the 
physician  carries  about  him  into  the  sick-chamber,  or  by  the 
direct  application  of  the  virus  to  the  absorbing  surfaces  with 
which  his  hand  comes  in  contact.  Many  facts  and  opinions 
are  in  favour  of  each  of  these  modes  of  transmission.  But 
it  is  obvious  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  it  must  be  im- 
possible to  decide  by  which  of  these  channels  the  disease  is 
conveyed,  from  the  nature  of  the  intercourse  between  the 
physician  and  the  patient. 

3.  It  is  not  pretended  that  the  contagion  of  puerperal  fever 
must  always  be  followed  by  the  disease.  It  is  true  of  all  con- 
tagious diseases  that  they  frequently  spare  those  who  appear 
to  be  fully  submitted  to  their  influence.  Even  the  vaccine 
virus,  fresh  from  the  subject,  fails  every  day  to  produce  its 
legitimate  effect,  though  every  precaution  is  taken  to  in- 
sure its  action.  This  is  still  more  remarkably  the  case 
with  scarlet  fever  and  some  other  diseases. 

4.  It  is  granted  that  the  disease  may  be  produced  and 
variously  modified  by  many  causes  besides  contagion,  and 
more  especially  by  epidemic  and  endemic  influences.  But 
this  is  not  peculiar  to  the  disease  in  question.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  smallpox  is  propagated  to  a great  extent  by 
contagion,  yet  it  goes  through  the  same  records  of  periodical 
increase  and  diminution  which  have  been  remarked  in  puer- 
peral fever.  If  the  question  is  asked  how  we  are  to  reconcile 
the  great  variations  in  the  mortality  of  puerperal  fever  in 
different  seasons  and  places  with  the  supposition  of  con- 
tagion, I will  answer  it  by  another  question  from  Mr.  Farr’s 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


239 


letter  to  the  Registrar-General.  He  makes  the  statement 
that  “ five  die  weekly  of  smallpox  in  the  metropolis  when 
the  disease  is  not  epidemic,”  and  adds,  “ The  problem  for 
solution  is,  Why  do  the  five  deaths  become  io,  15,  20,  31,  58, 
88,  weekly,  and  then  progressively  fall  through  the  same 
measured  steps  ?” 

5.  I take  it  for  granted  that  if  it  can  be  shown  that  great 
numbers  of  lives  have  been  and  are  sacrificed  to  ignorance 
or  blindness  on  this  point,  no  other  error  of  which  physicians 
or  nurses  may  be  occasionally  suspected  will  be  alleged  in 
palliation  of  this ; but  that  whenever  and  wherever  they 
can  be  shown  to  carry  disease  and  death  instead  of  health 
and  safety,  the  common  instincts  of  humanity  will  silence 
every  attempt  to  explain  away  their  responsibility. 

The  treatise  of  Dr.  Gordon,  of  Aberdeen,  was  published 
in  the  year  1795,  being  among  the  earlier  special  works 
upon  the  disease.  A part  of  his  testimony  has  been  occasion- 
ally copied  into  other  works,  but  his  expressions  are  so  clear, 
his  experience  is  given  with  such  manly  distinctness  and 
disinterested  honesty,  that  it  may  be  quoted  as  a model 
which  might  have  been  often  followed  with  advantage. 

“ This  disease  seized  such  women  only  as  were  visited  or 
delivered  by  a practitioner,  or  taken  care  of  by  a nurse, 
who  had  previously  attended  patients  affected  with  the 
disease.” 

“ I had  evident  proofs  of  its  infectious  nature,  and  that 
the  infection  was  as  readily  communicated  as  that  of  the 
smallpox  or  measles,  and  operated  more  speedily  than  any 
other  infection  with  which  I am  acquainted.” 

“ I had  evident  proofs  that  every  person  who  had  been 
with  a patient  in  the  puerperal  fever  became  charged  with 
an  atmosphere  of  infection,  which  was  communicated  to 
every  pregnant  woman  who  happened  to  come  within  its 
sphere.  This  is  not  an  assertion,  but  a fact,  admitting  of 
demonstration,  as  may  be  seen  by  a perusal  of  the  fore- 
going table  ” — referring  to  a table  of  seventy-seven  cases, 
in  many  of  which  the  channel  of  propagation  was  evident. 

He  adds : “ It  is  a disagreeable  declaration  for  me  to 
mention,  that  I myself  was  the  means  of  carrying  the  in- 


240 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


fection  to  a great  number  of  women.”  He  then  enumerates 
a number  of  instances  in  which  the  disease  was  conveyed 
by  midwives  and  others  to  the  neighboring  villages,  and 
declares  that  “ these  facts  fully  prove  that  the  cause  of  the 
puerperal  fever,  of  which  I treat,  was  a specific  contagion, 
or  infection,  altogether  unconnected  with  a noxious  con- 
stitution of  the  atmosphere.” 

But  his  most  terrible  evidence  is  given  in  these  words: 
“ I ARRIVED  AT  THAT  CERTAINTY  IN  THE  MATTER  THAT  I 
COULD  VENTURE  TO  FORETELL  WHAT  WOMEN  WOULD  BE  AF- 
FECTED WITH  THE  DISEASE,  UPON  HEARING  BY  WHAT  MID- 
WIFE THEY  WERE  TO  BE  DELIVERED,  OR  BY  WHAT  NURSE  THEY 
WERE  TO  BE  ATTENDED,  DURING  THEIR  LYING-IN  : AND  ALMOST 
IN  EVERY  INSTANCE  MY  PREDICTION  WAS  VERIFIED.” 

Even  previously  to  Gordon,  Mr.  White,  of  Manchester, 
had  said : “ I am  acquainted  with  two  gentlemen  in  another 
town,  where  the  whole  business  of  midwifery  is  divided 
betwixt  them,  and  it  is  very  remarkable  that  one  of  them 
loses  several  patients  every  year  of  the  puerperal  fever, 
and  the  other  never  so  much  as  meets  with  the  disorder  ” — 
a difference  which  he  seems  to  attribute  to  their  various 
modes  of  treatment.1 

Dr.  Armstrong  has  given  a number  of  instances  in  his 
Essay  on  Puerperal  Fever  of  the  prevalence  of  the  disease 
among  the  patients  of  a single  practitioner.  At  Sunder- 
land, “ in  all,  forty-three  cases  occurred  from  the  ist  of 
January  to  the  ist  of  October,  when  the  disease  ceased;  and 
of  this  number,  forty  were  witnessed  by  Mr.  Gregson  and 
his  assistant,  Mr.  Gregory,  the  remainder  having  been 
separately  seen  by  three  accoucheurs.”  There  is  appended 
to  the  London  edition  of  this  Essay  a letter  from  Mr. 
Gregson,  in  which  that  gentleman  says,  in  reference  to  the 
great  number  of  cases  occurring  in  his  practice,  “ The  cause 
of  this  I cannot  pretend  fully  to  explain,  but  I should  be 
wanting  in  common  liberality  if  I were  to  make  any  hesitation 
in  asserting  that  the  disease  which  appeared  in  my  practice 
was  highly  contagious,  and  communicable  from  one  puer- 
peral woman  to  another.”  “ It  is  customary  among  the  lower 
and  middle  ranks  of  people  to  make  frequent  personal  visits 

1 On  the  Management  of  Lying-in  Women,  p.  120. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


241 


to  puerperal  women  resident  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and 
I have  ample  evidence  for  affirming  that  the  infection 
of  the  disease  was  often  carried  about  in  that  manner; 
and,  however  painful  to  my  feelings,  I must  in  candour 
declare  that  it  is  very  probable  the  contagion  was  conveyed, 
in  some  instances,  by  myself,  though  I took  every  possible 
care  to  prevent  such  a thing  from  happening  the  moment  that 
I ascertained  that  the  distemper  was  infectious.”  Dr.  Arm- 
strong goes  on  to  mention  six  other  instances  within  his 
knowledge,  in  which  the  disease  had  at  different  times  and 
places  been  limited,  in  the  same  singular  manner,  to  the 
practice  of  individuals,  while  it  existed  scarcely,  if  at  all, 
among  the  patients  of  others  around  them.  Two  of  the  gen- 
tlemen became  so  convinced  of  their  conveying  the  con- 
tagion that  they  withdrew  for  a time  from  practice. 

I find  a brief  notice,  in  an  American  journal,  of  another 
series  of  cases,  first  mentioned  by  Mr.  Davies,  in  the  “ Medi- 
cal Repository.”  This  gentleman  stated  his  conviction  that 
the  disease  is  contagious. 

“ In  the  autumn  of  1822  he  met  with  twelve  cases,  while 
his  medical  friends  in  the  neighbourhood  did  not  meet  with 
any,  ‘ or  at  least  very  few.’  He  could  attribute  this  cir- 
cumstance to  no  other  cause  than  his  having  been  present 
at  the  examination  after  death,  of  two  cases,  some  time 
previous,  and  of  his  having  imparted  the  disease  to  his 
patients,  notwithstanding  every  precaution.”  2 

Dr.  Gooch  says : “ It  is  not  uncommon  for  the  greater 
number  of  cases  to  occur  in  the  practice  of  one  man,  whilst 
the  other  practitioners  of  the  neighborhood,  who  are  not 
more  skilful  or  more  busy,  meet  with  few  or  none.  A 
practitioner  opened  the  body  of  a woman  who  had  died 
of  puerperal  fever,  and  continued  to  wear  the  same  clothes. 
A lady  whom  he  delivered  a few  days  afterwards  was  at- 
tacked with  and  died  of  a similar  disease;  two  more  of  his 
lying-in  patients,  in  rapid  succession,  met  with  the  same 
fate;  struck  by  the  thought  that  he  might  have  carried  con- 
tagion in  his  clothes,  he  instantly  changed  them,  and  met  with 
no  more  cases  of  the  kind.3  A woman  in  the  country  who 

s Philad.  Med.  Journal  for  1825.  p.  408. 

3 A similar  anecdote  is  related  by  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  of  the  late  Dr, 
John  Clark,  Lancet,  May  2,  1840. 


242 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


was  employed  as  washerwoman  and  nurse  washed  the  linen 
of  one  who  had  died  of  puerperal  fever;  the  next  lying-in 
patient  she  nursed  died  of  the  same  disease ; a third  nursed 
by  her  met  the  same  fate,  till  the  neighbourhood,  getting 
afraid  of  her,  ceased  to  employ  her.”4 * 

In  the  winter  of  the  year  1824,  “ several  instances  oc- 
curred of  its  prevalence  among  the  patients  of  particular  prac- 
titioners, whilst  others  who  were  equally  busy  met  with  few 
or  none.  One  instance  of  this  kind  was  very  remarkable.  A 
general  practitioner,  in  large  midwifery  practice,  lost  so 
many  patients  from  puerperal  fever  that  he  determined  to 
deliver  no  more  for  some  time,  but  that  his  partner  should 
attend  in  his  place.  This  plan  was  pursued  for  one  month, 
during  which  not  a case  of  the  disease  occurred  in  their 
practice.  The  elder  practitioner,  being  then  sufficiently  re- 
covered, returned  to  his  practice,  but  the  first  patient  he 
attended  was  attacked  by  the  disease  and  died.  A physician 
who  met  him  in  consultation  soon  afterwards,  about  a case 
of  a different  kind,  and  who  knew  nothing  of  his  misfor- 
tune, asked  him  whether  puerperal  fever  was  at  all  preva- 
lent in  his  neighbourhood,  on  which  he  burst  into  tears,  and 
related  the  above  circumstances. 

“ Among  the  cases  which  I saw  this  season  in  consultation, 
four  occurred  in  one  month  in  the  practice  of  one  medical 
man,  and  all  of  them  terminated  fatally.”6 

Dr.  Ramsbotham  asserted,  in  a lecture  at  the  London  Hos- 
pital, that  he  had  known  the  disease  spread  through  a par- 
ticular district,  or  be  confined  to  the  practice  of  a particular 
person,  almost  every  patient  being  attacked  with  it,  while 
others  had  not  a single  case.  It  seemed  capable,  he  thought, 
of  conveyance,  not  only  by  common  modes,  but  through  the 
dress  of  the  attendants  upon  the  patient.6 

In  a letter  to  be  found  in  the  “ London  Medical  Gazette  ” 
for  January,  1840,  Mr.  Roberton,  of  Manchester,  makes  the 
statement  which  I here  give  in  a somewhat  condensed  form. 

A midwife  delivered  a woman  on  the  4th  of  December, 
1830,  who  died  soon  after  with  the  symptoms  of  puerperal 
fever.  In  one  month  from  this  date  the  same  midwife  de- 

4 An  Account  of  Some  of  the  Most  Important  Diseases  Peculiar  to 

Women,  p.  4.  6 Gooch,  op.  cit.,  p.  71.  6 Lond.  Med.  Caz.,  May  2,  1835. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


243 


livered  thirty  women,  residing  in  different  parts  of  an  ex- 
tensive suburb,  of  which  number  sixteen  caught  the  disease 
and  all  died.  These  were  the  only  cases  which  had  occurred 
for  a considerable  time  in  Manchester.  The  other  midwives 
connected  with  the  same  charitable  institution  as  the  woman 
already  mentioned  are  twenty-five  in  number,  and  deliver,  on 
an  average,  ninety  women  a week,  or  about  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty  a month.  None  of  these  women  had  a case 
of  puerperal  fever.  “ Yet  all  this  time  this  woman  was 
crossing  the  other  midwives  in  every  direction,  scores  of 
the  patients  of  the  charity  being  delivered  by  them  in  the 
very  same  quarters  where  her  cases  of  fever  were  hap- 
pening.” 

Mr.  Roberton  remarks  that  little  more  than  half  the 
women  she  delivered  during  this  month  took  the  fever;  that 
on  some  days  all  escaped,  on  others  only  one  or  more  out 
of  three  or  four;  a circumstance  similar  to  what  is  seen 
in  other  infectious  maladies. 

Dr.  Blundell  says:  “Those  who  have  never  made  the 
experiment  can  have  but  a faint  conception  how  difficult 
it  is  to  obtain  the  exact  truth  respecting  any  occurrence  in 
which  feelings  and  interests  are  concerned.  Omitting 
particulars,  then,  I content  myself  with  remarking,  gen- 
erally, that  from  more  than  one  district  I have  received 
accounts  of  the  prevalence  of  puerperal  fever  in  the  prac- 
tice of  some  individuals,  while  its  occurrence  in  that  of 
others,  in  the  same  neighborhood,  was  not  observed.  Some, 
as  I have  been  told,  have  lost  ten,  twelve,  or  a greater 
number  of  patients,  in  scarcely  broken  succession;  like  their 
evil  genius,  the  puerperal  fever  has  seemed  to  stalk  behind 
them  wherever  they  went.  Some  have  deemed  it  prudent 
to  retire  for  a time  from  practice.  In  fine,  that  this  fever 
may  occur  spontaneously,  I admit;  that  its  infectious  na- 
ture may  be  plausibly  disputed,  I do  not  deny;  but  I add, 
considerately,  that  in  my  own  family  I had  rather  that 
those  I esteemed  the  most  should  be  delivered,  unaided, 
in  a stable,  by  the  mangerside,  than  that  they  should  re- 
ceive the  best  help,  in  the  fairest  apartment,  but  exposed 
to  the  vapors  of  this  pitiless  disease.  Gossiping  friends, 
Wet-nurses,  monthly  nurses,  the  practitioner  himself,  these 


244 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


are  the  channels  by  which,  as  I suspect,  the  infection  is 
principally  conveyed.”  7 

At  a meeting  of  the  Royal  Medical  and  Chirurgical 
Society  Dr.  King  mentioned  that  some  years  since  a prac- 
titioner at  Woolwich  lost  sixteen  patients  from  puerperal 
fever  in  the  same  year.  He  was  compelled  to  give  up 
practice  for  one  or  two  years,  his  business  being  divided 
among  the  neighboring  practitioners.  No  case  of  puerperal 
fever  occurred  afterwards,  neither  had  any  of  the  neigh- 
boring surgeons  any  cases  of  this  disease. 

At  the  same  meeting  Mr.  Hutchinson  mentioned  the 
occurrence  of  three  consecutive  cases  of  puerperal  fever, 
followed  subsequently  by  two  others,  all  in  the  practice 
of  one  accoucheur.8 

Dr.  Lee  makes  the  following  statement : “ In  the  last  two 
weeks  of  September,  1827,  five  fatal  cases  of  uterine  in- 
flammation came  under  our  observation.  All  the  individuals 
so  attacked  had  been  attended  in  labor  by  the  same  mid- 
wife, and  no  example  of  a febrile  or  inflammatory  disease 
of  a serious  nature  occurred  during  that  period  among  the 
other  patients  of  the  Westminster  General  Dispensary,  who 
had  been  attended  by  the  other  midwives  belonging  to 
that  institution.” 9 

The  recurrence  of  long  series  of  cases  like  those  I have 
cited,  reported  by  those  most  interested  to  disbelieve  in 
contagion,  scattered  along  through  an  interval  of  half  a 
century,  might  have  been  thought  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
minds  of  all  inquirers  that  here  was  something  more  than 
a singular  coincidence.  But  if,  on  a more  extended  ob- 
servation, it  should  be  found  that  the  same  ominous  groups 
of  cases  clustering  about  individual  practitioners  were  ob- 
served in  a remote  country,  at  different  times,  and  in  widely 
separated  regions,  it  would  seem  incredible  that  any  should 
be  found  too  prejudiced  or  indolent  to  accept  the  solemn 
truth  knelled  into  their  ears  by  the  funeral  bells  from 
both  sides  of  the  ocean — the  plain  conclusion  that  the  phy- 
sician and  the  disease  entered,  hand  in  hand,  into  the  cham- 
ber of  the  unsuspecting  patient. 


7 Led.  on  Midwifery,  p.  395.  8 Lancet,  May  2,  1840. 

9 Lond.  Cyc.  of  Pract.  Med.,  art.,  “ Fever,  Puerperal.” 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


245 


That  such  series  of  cases  have  been  observed  in  this 
country,  and  in  this  neighborhood,  I proceed  to  show. 

In  Dr.  Francis’s  “ Notes  to  Denman’s  Midwifery  ” a 
passage  is  cited  from  Dr.  Hosack  in  which  he  refers  to 
certain  puerperal  cases  which  proved  fatal  to  several  lying-in 
women,  and  in  some  of  which  the  disease  was  supposed 
to  be  conveyed  by  the  accoucheurs  themselves.10 

A writer  in  the  “ New  York  Medical  and  Physical  Jour- 
nal ” for  October,  1829,  in  speaking  of  the  occurrence  of 
puerperal  fever  confined  to  one  man’s  practice,  remarks: 
“ We  have  known  cases  of  this  kind  occur,  though  rarely, 
in  New  York.” 

I mention  these  little  hints  about  the  occurrence  of  such 
cases  partly  because  they  are  the  first  I have  met  with  in 
American  medical  literature,  but  more  especially  because 
they  serve  to  remind  us  that  behind  the  fearful  array  of 
published  facts  there  lies  a dark  list  of  similar  events, 
unwritten  in  the  records  of  science,  but  long  remembered 
by  many  a desolated  fireside. 

Certainly  nothing  can  be  more  open  and  explicit  than  the 
account  given  by  Dr.  Peirson,  of  Salem,  of  the  cases  seen  by 
him.  In  the  first  nineteen  days  of  January,  1829,  he  had  five 
consecutive  cases  of  puerperal  fever,  every  patient  he  at- 
tended being  attacked,  and  the  three  first  cases  proving 
fatal.  In  March  of  the  same  year  he  had  two  moderate 
cases,  in  June,  another  case,  and  in  July,  another,  which 
proved  fatal.  “ Up  to  this  period,”  he  remarks,  “ I am 
not  informed  that  a single  case  had  occurred  in  the  prac- 
tice of  any  other  physician.  Since  that  period  I have  had 
no  fatal  case  in  my  practice,  although  I have  had  several 
dangerous  cases.  I have  attended  in  all  twenty  cases  of 
this  disease,  of  which  four  have  been  fatal.  I am  not  aware 
that  there  has  been  any  other  case  in  the  town  of  distinct 
puerperal  peritonitis,  although  I am  willing  to  admit  my 
information  may  be  very  defective  on  this  point.  I have 
been  told  of  some  ‘ mixed  cases,’  and  * morbid  affections 
after  delivery.’  ” 11 

In  the  “Quarterly  Summary  of  the  Transactions  of  the 


10  Denman’s  Midwifery,  p.  673,  third  Am.  ed. 

u Remarks  on  Puerperal  Fever,  pp.  12  and  13. 


246 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia  ” 13  may  be  found 
some  most  extraordinary  developments  respecting  a series  of 
cases  occurring  in  the  practice  of  a member  of  that  body. 

Dr.  Condie  called  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the 
prevalence,  at  the  present  time,  of  puerperal  fever  of  a 
peculiarly  insidious  and  malignant  character.  “ In  the  prac- 
tice of  one  gentleman  extensively  engaged  as  an  obstetrician 
nearly  every  female  he  has  attended  in  confinement,  during 
several  weeks  past,  within  the  above  limits”  (the  southern 
sections  and  neighboring  districts),  “had  been  attacked 
by  the  fever.” 

“ An  important  query  presents  itself,  the  doctor  observed, 
in  reference  to  the  particular  form  of  fever  now  prevalent. 
Is  it,  namely,  capable  of  being  propagated  by  contagion, 
and  is  a physician  who  has  been  in  attendance  upon  a case 
of  the  disease  warranted  in  continuing,  without  interruption, 
his  practice  as  an  obstetrician?  Dr.  C.,  although  not  a 
believer  in  the  contagious  character  of  many  of  those  af- 
fections generally  supposed  to  be  propagated  in  this  manner, 
has,  nevertheless,  become  convinced  by  the  facts  that  have 
fallen  under  his  notice  that  the  puerperal  fever  now  pre- 
vailing is  capable  of  being  communicated  by  contagion. 
How,  otherwise,  can  be  explained  the  very  curious  cir- 
cumstance of  the  disease  in  one  district  being  exclusively 
confined  to  the  practice  of  a single  physician,  a Fellow  of 
this  College,  extensively  engaged  in  obstetrical  practice, 
while  no  instance  of  the  disease  has  occurred  in  the  patients 
under  the  care  of  any  other  accoucheur  practising  within 
the  same  district ; scarcely  a female  that  has  been  delivered 
for  weeks  past  has  escaped  an  attack?” 

Dr.  Rutter,  the  practitioner  referred  to,  “observed  that, 
after  the  occurrence  of  a number  of  cases  of  the  disease 
in  his  practice,  he  had  left  the  city  and  remained  absent 
for  a week,  but,  on  returning,  no  article  of  clothing  he 
then  wore  having  been  used  by  him  before,  one  of  the  very 
first  cases  of  parturition  he  attended  was  followed  by  an 
attack  of  the  fever  and  terminated  fatally ; he  cannot  readily, 
therefore,  believe  in  the  transmission  of  the  disease  from 
female  to  female  in  the  person  or  clothes  of  the  physician.” 

12  For  May,  June,  and  July,  1842. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


247 


The  meeting  at  which  these  remarks  were  made  was  held 
on  the  3d  of  May,  1842.  In  a letter  dated  December  20, 
1842,  addressed  to  Dr.  Meigs,  and  to  be  found  in  the  “ Medi- 
cal Examiner,”13  he  speaks  of  “those  horrible  cases  of 
puerperal  fever,  some  of  which  you  did  me  the  favor  to 
see  with  me  during  the  past  summer,”  and  talks  of  his 
experience  in  the  disease,  “ now  numbering  nearly  seventy 
cases,  all  of  which  have  occurred  within  less  than  a twelve- 
month  past.” 

And  Dr.  Meigs  asserts,  on  the  same  page,  “ Indeed,  I 
believe  that  his  practice  in  that  department  of  the  pro- 
fession was  greater  than  that  of  any  other  gentleman, 
which  was  probably  the  cause  of  his  seeing  a greater  num- 
ber of  the  cases.”  This  from  a professor  of  midwifery, 
who  some  time  ago  assured  a gentleman  whom  he  met  in 
consultation  that  the  night  on  which  they  met  was  the 
eighteenth  in  succession  that  he  himself  had  been  summoned 
from  his  repose,11  seems  hardly  satisfactory. 

I must  call  the  attention  of  the  inquirer  most  particularly 
to  the  Quarterly  Report  above  referred  to,  and  the  letters 
of  Dr.  Meigs  and  Dr.  Rutter,  to  be  found  in  the  “ Medical 
Examiner.”  Whatever  impression  they  may  produce  upon 
his  mind,  I trust  they  will  at  least  convince  him  that  there 
is  some  reason  for  looking  into  this  apparently  uninviting 
subj  ect. 

At  a meeting  of  the  College  of  Physicians  just  men- 
tioned Dr.  Warrington  stated  that  a few  days  after  as- 
sisting at  an  autopsy  of  puerperal  peritonitis,  in  which  he 
laded  out  the  contents  of  the  abdominal  cavity  with  his 
hands,  he  was  called  upon  to  deliver  three  women  in 
rapid  succession.  All  of  these  women  were  attacked  with 
different  forms  of  what  is  commonly  called  puerperal  fever. 
Soon  after  these  he  saw  two  other  patients,  both  on  the 
same  day,  with  the  same  disease.  Of  these  five  patients, 
two  died. 

At  the  same  meeting  Dr.  West  mentioned  a fact  related 
to  him  by  Dr.  Samuel  Jackson,  of  Northumberland.  Seven 
females,  delivered  by  Dr.  Jackson  in  rapid  succession,  while 
practising  in  Northumberland  County,  were  all  attacked 

13  For  January  21,  1843.  11  Medical  Examiner  for  December  io,  1842. 


248 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


with  puerperal  fever,  and  five  of  them  died.  “ Women,” 
he  said,  “ who  had  expected  me  to  attend  upon  them, 
now  becoming  alarmed,  removed  out  of  my  reach,  and 
others  sent  for  a physician  residing  several  miles  distant. 
These  women,  as  well  as  those  attended  by  midwives,  all 
did  well ; nor  did  we  hear  of  any  deaths  in  child-bed 
within  a radius  of  fifty  miles,  excepting  two,  and  these  I 
afterwards  ascertained  to  have  been  caused  by  other  dis- 
eases.” He  underwent,  as  he  thought,  a thorough  purifica- 
tion, and  still  his  next  patient  was  attacked  with  the  dis- 
ease and  died.  He  was  led  to  suspect  that  the  contagion 
might  have  been  carried  in  the  gloves  which  he  had  worn 
in  attendance  upon  the  previous  cases.  Two  months  or 
more  after  this  he  had  two  other  cases.  He  could  find 
nothing  to  account  for  these  unless  it  were  the  instru- 
ments for  giving  enemata,  which  had  been  used  in  two 
of  the  former  cases  and  were  employed  by  these  patients. 
When  the  first  case  occurred,  he  was  attending  and  dress- 
ing a limb  extensively  mortified  from  erysipelas,  and  went 
immediately  to  the  accouchement  with  his  clothes  and 
gloves  most  thoroughly  imbued  with  its  effluvia.  And 
here  I may  mention  that  this  very  Dr.  Samuel  Jackson,  of 
Northumberland,  is  one  of  Dr.  Dewees’s  authorities  against 
contagion. 

The  three  following  statements  are  now  for  the  first 
time  given  to  the  public.  All  of  the  cases  referred  to 
occurred  within  this  State,  and  two  of  the  three  series  in 
Boston  and  its  immediate  vicinity. 

I.  The  first  is  a series  of  cases  which  took  place  during 
the  last  spring  in  a town  at  some  distance  from  this 
neighborhood.  A physician  of  that  town,  Dr.  C.,  had  the 
following  consecutive  cases : 


fo.  I, 

delivered 

March 

20, 

“ 2, 

“ 

April 

9. 

“ 3, 

iC 

10, 

“ 4, 

tt 

tl 

11, 

“ 5» 

it 

“ 

27, 

“ 6, 

tt 

“ 

28, 

“ 7, 

tt 

May 

8, 

April 


May 


14. 

14. 

18. 

3- 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


249 


These  were  the  only  cases  attended  by  this  physician 
during  the  period  referred  to.  “ They  were  all  attended 
by  him  until  their  termination,  with  the  exception  of  the 
patient  No.  6,  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  another  physician 
on  the  2d  of  May.”  (Dr.  C.  left  town  for  a few  days  at 
this  time.)  Dr.  C.  attended  cases  immediately  before  and 
after  the  above-named  periods,  none  of  which,  however, 
presented  any  peculiar  symptoms  of  the  disease. 

About  the  ist  of  July  he  attended  another  patient  in  a 
neighboring  village,  who  died  two  or  three  days  after 
delivery. 

The  first  patient,  it  is  stated,  was  delivered  on  the  20th 
of  March.  “On  the  19th  Dr.  C.  made  the  autopsy  of  a 
man  who  had  died  suddenly,  sick  only  forty-eight  hours ; had 
oedema  of  the  thigh  and  gangrene  extending  from  a little 
above  the  ankle  into  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen.”  Dr.  C. 
wounded  himself  very  slightly  in  the  right  hand  during  the 
autopsy.  The  hand  was  quite  painful  the  night  following, 
during  his  attendance  on  the  patient  No.  1.  He  did  not 
see  this  patient  after  the  20th,  being  confined  to  the  house, 
and  very  sick  from  the  wound  just  mentioned,  from  this 
time  until  the  3d  of  April. 

Several  cases  of  erysipelas  occurred  in  the  house  where 
the  autopsy  mentioned  above  took  place,  soon  after  the 
examination.  There  were  also  many  cases  of  erysipelas  in 
town  at  the  time  of  the  fatal  puerperal  cases  which  have 
been  mentioned. 

The  nurse  who  laid  out  the  body  of  the  patient  No.  3 
was  taken  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  with  sore 
throat  and  erysipelas,  and  died  in  ten  days  from  the  first 
attack. 

The  nurse  who  laid  out  the  body  of  the  patient  No.  4 
was  taken  on  the  day  following  with  symptoms  like  those 
of  this  patient,  and  died  in  a week,  without  any  external 
marks  of  erysipelas. 

“ No  other  cases  of  similar  character  with  those  of  Dr. 
C.  occurred  in  the  practice  of  any  of  the  physicians  in 
the  town  or  vicinity  at  the  time.  Deaths  following  con- 
finement have  occurred  in  the  practice  of  other  physicians 
during  the  past  year,  but  they  were  not  cases  of  puerperal 


250 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


fever.  No  post-mortem  examinations  were  held  in  any  of 
these  puerperal  cases.” 

Some  additional  statements  in  this  letter  are  deserving 
of  insertion : 

“ A physician  attended  a woman  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  the  cases  numbered  2,  3,  and  4.  This  patient 
was  confined  the  morning  of  March  1st,  and  died  on  the 
night  of  March  7th.  It  is  doubtful  whether  this  should 
be  considered  a case  of  puerperal  fever.  She  had  suffered 
from  canker,  indigestion,  and  diarrhoea  for  a year  previous 
to  her  delivery.  Her  complaints  were  much  aggravated 
for  two  or  three  months  previous  to  delivery;  she  had 
become  greatly  emaciated,  and  weakened  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  had  not  been  expected  that  she  would  long 
survive  her  confinement,  if  indeed  she  reached  that  period. 
Her  labor  was  easy  enough ; she  flowed  a good  deal, 
seemed  exceedingly  prostrated,  had  ringing  in  her  ears, 
and  other  symptoms  of  exhaustion ; the  pulse  was  quick 
and  small.  On  the  second  and  third  day  there  was  some 
tenderness  and  tumefaction  of  the  abdomen,  which  increased 
somewhat  on  the  fourth  and  fifth.  He  had  cases  in  mid- 
wifery before  and  after  this,  which  presented  nothing 
peculiar. 

It  is  also  mentioned  in  the  same  letter  that  another 
physician  had  a case  during  the  last  summer  and  another 
last  fall,  both  of  which  recovered. 

Another  gentleman  reports  a case  last  December,  a second 
case  five  weeks,  and  another  three  weeks,  since.  All  these 
recovered.  A case  also  occurred  very  recently  in  the  prac- 
tice of  a physician  in  the  village  where  the  eighth  patient 
of  Dr.  C.  resides,  which  proved  fatal.  “ This  patient  had 
some  patches  of  erysipelas  on  the  legs  and  arms.  The  same 
physician  has  delivered  three  cases  since,  which  have  all  done 
well.  There  have  been  no  other  cases  in  this  town  or  its 
vicinity  recently.  There  have  been  some  few  cases  of  ery- 
sipelas.” It  deserves  notice  that  the  partner  of  Dr.  C.,  who 
attended  the  autopsy  of  the  man  above  mentioned  and  took  an 
active  part  in  it,  who  also  suffered  very  slightly  from  a 
prick  under  the  thumb-nail  received  during  the  examin- 
ation, had  twelve  cases  of  midwifery  between  March  26th 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


251 


and  April  12th,  all  of  which  did  well,  ana  presented  no 
peculiar  symptoms.  It  should  also  be  stated  that  during 
these  seventeen  days  he  was  in  attendance  on  all  the  cases 
of  erysipelas  in  the  house  where  the  autopsy  had  been 
performed.  I owe  these  facts  to  the  prompt  kindness  of 
a gentleman  whose  intelligence  and  character  are  suf- 
ficient guaranty  for  their  accuracy. 

The  two  following  letters  were  addressed  to  my  friend 
Dr.  Storer  by  the  gentleman  in  whose  practice  the  cases 
of  puerperal  fever  occurred.  His  name  renders  it  un- 
necessary to  refer  more  particularly  to  these  gentlemen, 
who  on  their  part  have  manifested  the  most  perfect  free- 
dom and  courtesy  in  affording  these  accounts  of  their 
painful  experience. 


"January  28,  1843. 

II.  . . . “ The  time  to  which  you  allude  was  in  1830. 

The  first  case  was  in  February,  during  a very  cold  time. 
She  was  confined  the  4th,  and  died  the  12th.  Between 
the  10th  and  28th  of  this  month  I attended  six  women 
in  labor,  all  of  whom  did  well  except  the  last,  as  also  two 
who  were  confined  March  1st  and  5th.  Mrs.  E.,  confined 
February  28th,  sickened,  and  died  March  8th.  The  next 
day,  9th,  I inspected  the  body,  and  the  night  after  at- 
tended a lady,  Mrs.  B.,  who  sickened,  and  died  16th.  The 
10th,  I attended  another,  Mrs.  G.,  who  sickened,  but  re- 
covered. March  16th  I went  from  Mrs.  G.’s  room  to 
attend  a Mrs.  H.,  who  sickened,  and  died  21st.  The  17th, 
I inspected  Mrs.  B.  On  the  19th,  I went  directly  from 
Mrs.  H.’s  room  to  attend  another  lady,  Mrs.  G.,  who  also 
sickened,  and  died  22d.  While  Mrs.  B.  was  sick,  on  15th, 
I went  directly  from  her  room  a few  rods,  and  attended 
another  woman,  who  was  not  sick.  Up  to  20th  of  this 
month  I wore  the  same  clothes.  I now  refused  to  attend 
any  labor,  and  did  not  till  April  21st,  when,  having  thor- 
oughly cleansed  myself,  I resumed  my  practice,  and  had 
no  more  puerperal  fever. 

“ The  cases  were  not  confined  to  a narrow  space.  The 
two  nearest  were  half  a mile  from  each  other,  and  half 
that  distance  from  my  residence.  The  others  were  from 


252 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


two  to  three  miles  apart,  and  nearly  that  distance  from 
my  residence.  There  were  no  other  cases  in  their  im- 
mediate vicinity  which  came  to  my  knowledge.  The  gen- 
eral health  of  all  the  women  was  pretty  good,  and  all  the 
labors  as  good  as  common,  except  the  first.  This  woman, 
in  consequence  of  my  not  arriving  in  season,  and  the 
child  being  half-born  at  some  time  before  I arrived,  was 
very  much  exposed  to  the  cold  at  the  time  of  confinement, 
and  afterwards,  being  confined  in  a very  open,  cold  room. 
Of  the  six  cases,  you  perceive  only  one  recovered. 

“ In  the  winter  of  1817  two  of  my  patients  had  puerperal 
fever,  one  very  badly,  the  other  not  so  badly.  Both  re- 
covered. One  other  had  swelled  leg  or  phlegmasia  dolens, 
and  one  or  two  others  did  not  recover  as  well  as  usual. 

“ In  the  summer  of  1835  another  disastrous  period  oc- 
curred in  my  practice.  July  1st  I attended  a lady  in  labor, 
who  was  afterwards  quite  ill  and  feverish;  but  at  the  time 
I did  not  consider  her  case  a decided  puerperal  fever.  On 
the  8th  I attended  one  who  did  well.  On  the  12th,  one 
who  was  seriously  sick.  This  was  also  an  equivocal  case, 
apparently  arising  from  constipation  and  irritation  of  the 
rectum.  These  women  were  ten  miles  apart  and  five  from 
my  residence.  On  15th  and  20th  two  who  did  well.  On 
25th  I attended  another.  This  was  a severe  labor,  and 
followed  by  unequivocal  puerperal  fever,  or  peritonitis. 
She  recovered.  August  2d  and  3d,  in  about  twenty-four 
hours,  I attended  four  persons.  Two  of  them  did  very  well; 
one  was  attacked  with  some  of  the  common  symptoms, 
which,  however,  subsided  in  a day  or  two,  and  the  other 
had  decided  puerperal  fever,  but  recovered.  This  woman 
resided  five  miles  from  me.  Up  to  this  time  I wore 
the  same  coat.  All  my  other  clothes  had  frequently  been 
changed.  On  6th,  I attended  two  women,  one  of  whom 
was  not  sick  at  all ; but  the  other,  Mrs.  L.,  was  afterwards 
taken  ill.  On  10th,  I attended  a lady,  who  did  very  well. 
I had  previously  changed  all  my  clothes,  and  had  no  gar- 
ment on  which  had  been  in  a puerperal  room.  On  12th, 
I was  called  to  Mrs.  S.,  in  labor.  While  she  was  ill,  I left 
her  to  visit  Mrs.  L.,  one  of  the  ladies  who  was  confined 
on  6th.  Mrs.  L.  had  been  more  unwell  than  usual,  but  I 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


253 


had  not  considered  her  case  anything  more  than  common 
till  this  visit.  I had  on  a surtout  at  this  visit,  which,  on 
my  return  to  Mrs.  S.,  I left  in  another  room.  Mrs.  S.  was 
delivered  on  13th  with  forceps.  These  women  both  died  of 
decided  puerperal  fever. 

“ While  I attended  these  women  in  their  fevers  I changed 
my  clothes,  and  washed  my  hands  in  a solution  of  chloride 
of  lime  after  each  visit.  I attended  seven  women  in  labor 
during  this  period,  all  of  whom  recovered  without  sickness. 

“ In  my  practice  I have  had  several  single  cases  of 
puerperal  fever,  some  of  whom  have  died  and  some  have 
recovered.  Until  the  year  1830  I had  no  suspicion  that 
the  disease  could  be  communicated  from  one  patient  to 
another  by  a nurse  or  midwife ; but  I now  think  the  fore- 
going facts  strongly  favor  that  idea.  I was  so  much  con- 
vinced of  this  fact  that  I adopted  the  plan  before  related. 

“ I believe  my  own  health  was  as  good  as  usual  at  each 
of  the  above  periods.  I have  no  recollection  to  the  con- 
trary. 

“ I believe  I have  answered  all  your  questions.  I have 
been  more  particular  on  some  points  perhaps  than  neces- 
sary; but  I thought  you  could  form  your  own  opinion 
better  than  to  take  mine.  In  1830  I wrote  to  Dr.  Chan- 
ning  a more  particular  statement  of  my  cases.  If  I have 
not  answered  your  questions  sufficiently,  perhaps  Dr.  C. 
may  have  my  letter  to  him,  and  you  can  find  your  answer 
there.” 15 

“ Boston,  February  3,  1843. 

III.  “My  dear  Sir  : I received  a note  from  you  last 

evening  requesting  me  to  answer  certain  questions  therein 
proposed,  touching  the  cases  of  puerperal  fever  which  came 
under  my  observation  the  past  summer.  It  gives  me  pleas- 
ure to  comply  with  your  request,  so  far  as  it  is  in  my  power 
so  to  do,  but,  owing  to  the  hurry  in  preparing  for  a journey, 
the  notes  of  the  cases  I had  then  taken  were  lost  or  mislaid. 
The  principal  facts,  however,  are  too  vivid  upon  my  recol- 
lection to  be  soon  forgotten.  I think,  therefore,  that  I shall 
be  able  to  give  you  all  the  information  you  may  require. 

16  In  a letter  to  myself  this  gentleman  also  stated,  “ I do  not  recollect 
that  there  was  any  erysipelas  or  any  other  disease  particularly  prevalent 
at  the  time.” 


254 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


“All  the  cases  that  occurred  in  my  practice  took  place  be- 
tween the  7th  of  May  and  the  17th  of  June,  1842. 

“They  were  not  confined  to  any  particular  part  of  the 
city.  The  first  two  cases  were  patients  residing  at  the  South 
End,  the  next  was  at  the  extreme  North  End,  one  living  in 
Sea  Street  and  the  other  in  Roxbury.  The  following  is  the 
order  in  which  they  occurred : 

“Case  x. — Mrs.  was  confined  on  the  7th  of  May,  at 

5 o’clock,  p.  m.,  after  a natural  labor  of  six  hours.  At  12 
o’clock  at  night,  on  the  9th  (thirty-one  hours  after  confine- 
ment), she  was  taken  with  severe  chill,  previous  to  which 
she  was  as  comfortable  as  women  usually  are  under  the 
circumstances.  She  died  on  the  10th. 

“Case  2. — Mrs.  was  confined  on  the  10th  of  June 

(four  weeks  after  Mrs.  C.),  at  11  a.  m.,  after  a natural, 
but  somewhat  severe,  labor  of  five  hours.  At  7 o’clock, 
on  the  morning  of  the  nth,  she  had  a chill.  Died  on 
the  12th. 

“Case  3. — Mrs.  , confined  on  the  14th  of  June,  was 

comfortable  until  the  18th,  when  symptoms  of  puerperal 
fever  were  manifest.  She  died  on  the  20th. 

“Case  4. — Mrs. , confined  June  17th,  at  5 o’clock,  a.  m., 

was  doing  well  until  the  morning  of  the  19th.  She  died  on 
the  evening  of  the  21st. 

“Case  5. — Mrs.  was  confined  with  her  fifth  child  on 

the  17th  of  June,  at  6 o’clock  in  the  evening.  This  patient 
had  been  attacked  with  puerperal  fever,  at  three  of  her 
previous  confinements,  but  the  disease  yielded  to  depletion 
and  other  remedies  without  difficulty.  This  time,  I regret 
to  say,  I was  not  so  fortunate.  She  was  not  attacked,  as  were 
the  other  patients,  with  a chill,  but  complained  of  extreme 
pain  in  the  abdomen,  and  tenderness  on  pressure,  almost 
from  the  moment  of  her  confinement.  In  this,  as  in  the 
other  cases,  the  disease  resisted  all  remedies,  and  she  died 
in  great  distress  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month.  Owing 
to  the  extreme  heat  of  the  season  and  my  own  indisposition, 
none  of  the  subjects  were  examined  after  death.  Dr.  Chan- 
ning,  who  was  in  attendance  with  me  on  the  three  last  cases, 
proposed  to  have  a post-mortem  examination  of  the  subject 


PUERPERAL  FEVER  255 

of  case  No.  5,  but  from  some  cause  which  I do  not  now 
recollect  it  was  not  obtained. 

“You  wish  to  know  whether  I wore  the  same  clothes  when 
attending  the  different  cases.  I cannot  positively  say,  but  I 
should  think  I did  not,  as  the  weather  became  warmer  after 
the  first  two  cases ; I therefore  think  it  probable  that  I made 
a change  of  at  least  a part  of  my  dress.  I have  had  no  other 
case  of  puerperal  fever  in  my  own  practice  for  three  years, 
save  those  above  related,  and  I do  not  remember  to  have 
lost  a patient  before  with  this  disease.  While  absent,  last 
July,  I visited  two  patients  sick  with  puerperal  fever,  with 
a friend  of  mine  in  the  country.  Both  of  them  recovered. 

“The  cases  that  I have  recorded  were  not  confined  to  any 
particular  constitution  or  temperament,  but  it  seized  upon 
the  strong  and  the  weak,  the  old  and  the  young — one  being 
over  forty  years,  and  the  youngest  under  eighteen  years  of 
age.  ...  If  the  disease  is  of  an  erysipelatous  nature,  as 
many  suppose,  contagionists  may  perhaps  find  some  ground 
for  their  belief  in  the  fact  that,  for  two  weeks  previous  to  my 
first  case  of  puerperal  fever,  I had  been  attending  a severe 
case  of  erysipelas,  and  the  infection  may  have  been  conveyed 
through  me  to  the  patient ; but,  on  the  other  hand,  why  is  not 
this  the  case  with  other  physicians,  or  with  the  same  physician 
at  all  times,  for  since  my  return  from  the  country  I have 
had  a more  inveterate  case  of  erysipelas  than  ever  before, 
and  no  difficulty  whatever  has  attended  any  of  my  midwifery 
cases  ? ” 

I am  assured,  on  unquestionable  authority,  that  “ about 
three  years  since  a gentleman  in  extensive  midwifery  busi- 
ness, in  a neighboring  State,  lost  in  the  course  of  a few 
weeks  eight  patients  in  child-bed,  seven  of  them  being  un- 
doubted cases  of  puerperal  fever.  No  other  physician  of  the 
town  lost  a single  patient  of  this  disease  during  the  same 
period.”  And  from  what  I have  heard  in  conversation  with 
some  of  our  most  experienced  practitioners,  I am  inclined  to 
think  many  cases  of  the  kind  might  be  brought  to  light  by 
extensive  inquiry. 

This  long  catalogue  of  melancholy  histories  assumes  a still 
darker  aspect  when  we  remember  how  kindly  nature  deals 
with  the  parturient  female,  when  she  is  not  immersed  in 


256 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


the  virulent  atmosphere  of  an  impure  lying-in  hospital,  or 
poisoned  in  her  chamber  by  the  unsuspected  breath  of  con- 
tagion. From  all  causes  together  not  more  than  four  deaths 
in  a thousand  births  and  miscarriages  happened  in  England 
and  Wales  during  the  period  embraced  by  the  first  Report 
of  the  Registrar-General.16  In  the  second  Report  the  mor- 
tality was  shown  to  be  about  five  in  one  thousand.17  In  the 
Dublin  Lying-in  Hospital,  during  the  seven  years  of  Dr. 
Collins’s  mastership,  there  was  one  case  of  puerperal  fever 
to  178  deliveries,  or  less  than  six  to  the  thousand,  and  one 
death  from  this  disease  in  278  cases,  or  between  three  and 
four  to  the  thousand.18  Yet  during  this  period  the  disease 
was  endemic  in  the  hospital,  and  might  have  gone  on  to 
rival  the  horrors  of  the  pestilence  of  the  Maternite,  had 
not  the  poison  been  destroyed  by  a thorough  purification. 

In  private  practice,  leaving  out  of  view  the  cases  that  are 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  self-acting  system  of  propagation,  it 
would  seem  that  the  disease  must  be  far  from  common.  Mr. 
White,  of  Manchester,  says:  “Out  of  the  whole  number  of 
lying-in  patients  whom  I have  delivered  (and  I may  safely 
call  it  a great  one),  I have  never  lost  one,  nor  to  the  best  of 
my  recollection  has  one  been  greatly  endangered,  by  the 
puerperal,  miliary,  low  nervous,  putrid  malignant,  or  milk 
fever.”19  Dr.  Joseph  Clarke  informed  Dr.  Collins  that  in 
the  course  of  forty-five  years’  most  extensive  practice  he 
lost  but  four  patients  from  this  disease.20  One  of  the  most 
eminent  practitioners  of  Glasgow  who  has  been  engaged  in 
very  extensive  practice  for  upwards  of  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury testifies  that  he  never  saw  more  than  twelve  cases  of 
real  puerperal  fever.21 

I have  myself  been  told  by  two  gentlemen  practicing  in 
this  city,  and  having  for  many  years  a large  midwifery  busi- 
ness, that  they  had  neither  of  them  lost  a patient  from  this 
disease,  and  by  one  of  them  that  he  had  only  seen  it  in 
consultation  with  other  physicians.  In  five  hundred  cases 
of  midwifery,  of  which  Dr.  Storer  has  given  an  abstract 
in  the  first  number  of  this  journal,  there  was  only  one  in- 
stance of  fatal  puerperal  peritonitis. 

16  First  Report,  p.  105.  _ 17  Second  Report,  p.  73. 

18  Collins’s  Treatise  on  Midwifery,  p.  228,  etc.  1B  Op.  cit.,  p.  1 1 5, 

20  Op.  cit.,  p.  228.  21  Lancet,  May  4,  1833. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


257 


In  the  view  of  these  facts  it  does  appear  a singular  coinci- 
dence that  one  man  or  woman  should  have  ten,  twenty,  thirty, 
or  seventy  cases  of  this  rare  disease  following  his  or  her 
footsteps  with  the  keenness  of  a beagle,  through  the  streets 
and  lanes  of  a crowded  city,  while  the  scores  that  cross  the 
same  paths  on  the  same  errands  know  it  only  by  name.  It 
is  a series  of  similar  coincidences  which  has  led  us  to  con- 
sider the  dagger,  the  musket,  and  certain  innocent-looking 
white  powders  as  having  some  little  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
dangerous.  It  is  the  practical  inattention  to  similar  coin- 
cidences which  has  given  rise  to  the  unpleasant  but  often 
necessary  documents  called  indictments,  which  has  sharpened 
a form  of  the  cephalotome  sometimes  employed  in  the  case 
of  adults,  and  adjusted  that  modification  of  the  fillet  which 
delivers  the  world  of  those  who  happen  to  be  too  much  in 
the  way  while  such  striking  coincidences  are  taking  place. 

I shall  now  mention  a few  instances  in  which  the  disease 
appears  to  have  been  conveyed  by  the  process  of  direct  inocu- 
lation. 

Dr.  Campbell,  of  Edinburgh,  states  that  in  October,  1821, 
he  assisted  at  the  post-mortem  examination  of  a patient  who 
died  with  puerperal  fever.  He  carried  the  pelvic  viscera  in 
his  pocket  to  the  class-room.  The  same  evening  he  attended 
a woman  in  labor  without  previously  changing  his  clothes; 
this  patient  died.  The  next  morning  he  delivered  a woman 
with  the  forceps ; she  died  also,  and  of  many  others  who 
were  seized  with  the  disease  within  a few  weeks,  three  shared 
the  same  fate  in  succession. 

In  June,  1823,  he  assisted  some  of  his  pupils  at  the  autopsy 
of  a case  of  puerperal  fever.  He  was  unable  to  wash  his 
hands  with  proper  care,  for  want  of  the  necessary  accom- 
modations. On  getting  home  he  found  that  two  patients 
required  his  assistance.  He  went  without  further  ablution 
or  changing  his  clothes ; both  these  patients  died  with  puer- 
peral fever.23  This  same  Dr.  Campbell  is  one  of  Dr. 
Churchill’s  authorities  against  contagion. 

Mr.  Roberton  says  that  in  one  instance  within  his  knowl- 
edge a practitioner  passed  the  catheter  for  a patient  with 
puerperal  fever  late  in  the  evening;  the  same  night  he  at- 
33  Lond.  Med.  Gazette,  December  10,  1831. 

(g)  hc  xxxvrrr 


258 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


tended  a lady  who  had  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  on  the 
second  day.  In  another  instance  a surgeon  was  called  while 
in  the  act  of  inspecting  the  body  of  a woman  who  had  died 
of  this  fever,  to  attend  a labor;  within  forty-eight  hours 
this  patient  was  seized  with  the  fever.23 

On  the  16th  of  March,  1831,  a medical  practitioner  exam- 
ined the  body  of  a woman  who  had  died  a few  days  after 
delivery,  from  puerperal  peritonitis.  On  the  evening  of  the 
17th  he  delivered  a patient,  who  was  seized  with  puerperal 
fever  on  the  19th,  and  died  on  the  24th.  Between  this  period 
and  the  6th  of  April  the  same  practitioner  attended  two 
other  patients,  both  of  whom  were  attacked  with  the  same 
disease  and  died.21 

In  the  autumn  of  1829  a physician  was  present  at  the  ex- 
amination of  a case  of  puerperal  fever,  dissected  out  the 
organs,  and  assisted  in  sewing  up  the  body.  He  had  scarcely 
reached  home  when  he  was  summoned  to  attend  a young 
lady  in  labor.  In  sixteen  hours  she  was  attacked  with  the 
symptoms  of  puerperal  fever,  and  narrowly  escaped  with 
her  life.26 

In  December,  1830,  a midwife,  who  had  attended  two  fatal 
cases  of  puerperal  fever  at  the  British  Lying-in  Hospital, 
examined  a patient  who  had  just  been  admitted,  to  ascertain 
if  labor  had  commenced.  This  patient  remained  two  days  in 
the  expectation  that  labor  would  come  on,  when  she  returned 
home  and  was  then  suddenly  taken  in  labor  and  delivered 
before  she  could  set  out  for  the  hospital.  She  went  on  favor- 
ably for  two  days,  and  was  then  taken  with  puerperal  fever 
and  died  in  thirty-six  hours.26 

“A  young  practitioner,  contrary  to  advice,  examined  the 
body  of  a patient  who  had  died  from  puerperal  fever;  there 
was  no  epidemic  at  the  time ; the  case  appeared  to  be  purely 
sporadic.  He  delivered  three  other  women  shortly  after- 
wards; they  all  died  with  puerperal  fever,  the  symptoms  of 
which  broke  out  very  soon  after  labor.  The  patients  of  his 
colleague  did  well,  except  one,  where  he  assisted  to  remove 
some  coagula  from  the  uterus ; she  was  attacked  in  the  same 
manner  as  those  whom  he  had  attended,  and  died  also.”  The 

23  Ibid,  for  January,  1832. 

=1  London  Cyc.  of  Pract.  Med.,  art.,  “ Fever,  Puerperal.” 

“ Ibid.  28  Ibid. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


259 


writer  in  the  “British  and  Foreign  Medical  Review,”  from 
whom  I quote  this  statement, — and  who  is  no  other  than  Dr. 
Rigby, — adds:  “We  trust  that  this  fact  alone  will  forever 

silence  such  doubts,  and  stamp  the  well-merited  epithet  of 
‘criminal,’  as  above  quoted,  upon  such  attempts.” 

From  the  cases  given  by  Mr.  Ingleby  I select  the  following: 
Two  gentlemen,  after  having  been  engaged  in  conducting  the 
post-mortem  examination  of  a case  of  puerperal  fever,  went 
in  the  same  dress,  each  respectively,  to  a case  of  midwifery. 
“The  one  patient  was  seized  with  the  rigor  about  thirty  hours 
afterwards.  The  other  patient  was  seized  with  a rigor  the 
third  morning  after  delivery.  One  recovered,  one  died.”** 
One  of  these  same  gentlemen  attended  another  woman  in 
the  same  clothes  two  days  after  the  autopsy  referred  to. 
“The  rigor  did  not  take  place  until  the  evening  of  the  fifth 
day  from  the  first  visit.  Result  fatal.”  These  cases  belonged 
to  a series  of  seven,  the  first  of  which  was  thought  to  have 
originated  in  a case  of  erysipelas.  “Several  cases  of  a mild 
character  followed  the  foregoing  seven,  and  their  nature 
being  now  most  unequivocal,  my  friend  declined  visiting  all 
midwifery  cases  for  a time,  and  there  was  no  recurrence  of 
the  disease.”  These  cases  occurred  in  1833.  Five  of  them 
proved  fatal.  Mr.  Ingleby  gives  another  series  of  seven 
cases  which  occurred  to  a practitioner  in  1836,  the  first  of 
which  was  also  attributed  to  his  having  opened  several 
erysipelatous  abscesses  a short  time  previously. 

I need  not  refer  to  the  case  lately  read  before  this  society, 
in  which  a physician  went,  soon  after  performing  an  autopsy 
of  a case  of  puerperal  fever,  to  a woman  in  labor,  who  was 
seized  with  the  same  disease  and  perished.  The  forfeit  of 
that  error  has  been  already  paid. 

At  a meeting  of  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society  before 
referred  to.  Dr.  Merriman  related  an  instance  occurring  in 
his  own  practice,  which  excites  a reasonable  suspicion  that 
two  lives  were  sacrificed  to  a still  less  dangerous  experiment. 
He  was  at  the  examination  of  a case  of  puerperal  fever  at 
two  o’clock  in  the  afternoon.  He  took  care  not  to  touch  the 
body.  At  nine  o’clock  the  same  evening  he  attended  a woman 


n Brit,  and  For.  Medical  Review  for  January,  1842,  p.  nz. 
28  E din.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,  April,  1838. 


260 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


in  labor;  she  was  so  nearly  delivered  that  he  had  scarcely 
anything  to  do.  The  next  morning  she  had  severe  rigors, 
and  in  forty-eight  hours  she  was  a corpse.  Her  infant  had 
erysipelas  and  died  in  two  days.29 

In  connection  with  the  facts  which  have  been  stated  it 
seems  proper  to  allude  to  the  dangerous  and  often  fatal  ef- 
fects which  have  followed  from  wounds  received  in  the  post- 
mortem examination  of  patients  who  have  died  of  puerperal 
fever.  The  fact  that  such  wounds  are  attended  with  peculiar 
risk  has  been  long  noticed.  I find  that  Chaussier  was  in  the 
habit  of  cautioning  his  students  against  the  danger  to  which 
they  were  exposed  in  these  dissections.30  The  head  pharma- 
cien  of  the  Hotel  Dieu,  in  his  analysis  of  the  fluid  effused 
in  puerperal  peritonitis,  says  that  practitioners  are  convinced 
of  its  deleterious  qualities,  and  that  it  is  very  dangerous  to 
apply  it  to  the  denuded  skin.31  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  speaks 
of  it  as  being  well  known  that  the  inoculation  of  lymph  or 
pus  from  the  peritoneum  of  a puerperal  patient  is  often 
attended  with  dangerous  and  even  fatal  symptoms.  Three 
cases  in  confirmation  of  this  statement,  two  of  them  fatal, 
have  been  reported  to  this  society  within  a few  months. 

Of  about  fifty  cases  of  injuries  of  this  kind,  of  various 
degrees  of  severity,  which  I have  collected  from  different 
sources,  at  least  twelve  were  instances  of  infection  from 
puerperal  peritonitis.  Some  of  the  others  are  so  stated  as 
to  render  it  probable  that  they  may  have  been  of  the  same 
nature.  Five  other  cases  were  of  peritoneal  inflammation; 
three  in  males.  Three  were  what  was  called  enteritis,  in 
one  instance  complicated  with  erysipelas ; but  it  is  well  known 
that  this  term  has  been  often  used  to  signify  inflammation 
of  the  peritoneum  covering  the  intestines.  On  the  other 
hand,  no  case  of  typhus  or  typhoid  fever  is  mentioned  as 
giving  rise  to  dangerous  consequences,  with  the  exception  of 
the  single  instance  of  an  undertaker  mentioned  by  Mr.  Trav- 
ers, who  seems  to  have  been  poisoned  by  a fluid  which  exuded 
from  the  body.  The  other  accidents  were  produced  by  dis- 
section, or  some  other  mode  of  contact  with  bodies  of  patients 
who  had  died  of  various  affections.  They  also  differed  much 

29  Lancet,  May  2,  1840. 

30  Stein,  L’Art  d’Accoucher,  1794;  Diet,  des  Sciences  Medicates,  art., 
“Puerperal.”  31  Journal  de  Pharmacie,  January,  1836. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


261 


in  severity,  the  cases  of  puerperal  origin  being  among  the 
most  formidable  and  fatal.  Now  a moment’s  reflection  will 
show  that  the  number  of  cases  of  serious  consequences  ensu- 
ing from  the  dissection  of  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  per- 
ished of  puerperal  fever  is  so  vastly  disproportioned  to  the 
relatively  small  number  of  autopsies  made  in  this  complaint 
as  compared  with  typhus  or  pneumonia  (from  which  last 
disease  not  one  case  of  poisoning  happened),  and  still  more 
from  all  diseases  put  together,  that  the  conclusion  is  irresist- 
ible that  a most  fearful  morbid  poison  is  often  generated  in 
the  course  of  this  disease.  Whether  or  not  it  is  sui  generis 
confined  to  this  disease,  or  produced  in  some  others,  as,  for 
instance,  erysipelas,  I need  not  stop  to  inquire. 

In  connection  with  this  may  be  taken  the  following  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Rigby : “ That  the  discharges  from  a patient 
under  puerperal  fever  are  in  the  highest  degree  contagious 
we  have  abundant  evidence  in  the  history  of  lying-in  hos- 
pitals. The  puerperal  abscesses  are  also  contagious,  and  may 
be  communicated  to  healthy  lying-in  women  by  washing  with 
the  same  sponge ; this  fact  has  been  repeatedly  proved  in  the 
Vienna  Hospital;  but  they  are  equally  communicable  to 
women  not  pregnant;  on  more  than  one  occasion  the  women 
engaged  in  washing  the  soiled  bed-linen  of  the  General 
Lying-in  Hospital  have  been  attacked  with  abscesses  in  the 
fingers  or  hands,  attended  with  rapidly  spreading  inflamma- 
tion of  the  cellular  tissue.”32 

Now  add  to  all  this  the  undisputed  fact  that  within  the 
walls  of  lying-in  hospitals  there  is  often  generated  a miasm, 
palpable  as  the  chlorine  used  to  destroy  it,  tenacious  so  as 
in  some  cases  almost  to  defy  extirpation,  deadly  in  some  in- 
stitutions as  the  plague;  which  has  killed  women  in  a private 
hospital  of  London  so  fast  that  they  were  buried  two  in  one 
coffin  to  conceal  its  horrors;  which  enabled  Tonnelle  to 
record  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  autopsies  at  the 
Maternite  of  Paris;  which  has  led  Dr.  Lee  to  express  his 
deliberate  conviction  that  the  loss  of  life  occasioned  by 
these  institutions  completely  defeats  the  objects  of  their 
founders;  and  out  of  this  train  of  cumulative  evidence,  the 
multiplied  groups  of  cases  clustering  about  individuals,  the 

32  System  of  Midwifery,  p.  292. 


262 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


deadly  results  of  autopsies,  the  inoculation  by  fluids  from 
the  living  patient,  the  murderous  poison  of  hospitals — does 
there  not  result  a conclusion  that  laughs  all  sophistry  to 
scorn,  and  renders  all  argument  an  insult? 

I have  had  occasion  to  mention  some  instances  in  which 
there  was  an  apparent  relation  between  puerperal  fever  and 
erysipelas.  The  length  to  which  this  paper  has  extended 
does  not  allow  me  to  enter  into  the  consideration  of  this 
most  important  subject.  I will  only  say  that  the  evidence 
appears  to  me  altogether  satisfactory  that  some  most  fatal 
series  of  puerperal  fever  have  been  produced  by  an  infection 
originating  in  the  matter  or  effluvia  of  erysipelas.  In  evi- 
dence of  some  connection  between  the  two  diseases,  I need 
not  go  back  to  the  older  authors,  as  Pouteau  or  Gordon,  but 
will  content  myself  with  giving  the  following  references, 
with  their  dates;  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  testi- 
mony has  been  constantly  coming  before  the  profession  for 
the  last  few  years: 

“London  Cyclopsedia  of  Practical  Medicine,”  article  Puer- 
peral Fever,  1833. 

Mr.  Ceeley’s  Account  of  the  Puerperal  Fever  at  Aylesbury, 
“Lancet,”  1835. 

Dr.  Ramsbotham’s  Lecture,  “London  Medical  Gazette,” 

1835- 

Mr.  Yates  Ackerly’s  Letter  in  the  same  journal,  1838. 

Mr.  Ingleby  on  Epidemic  Puerperal  Fever,  “ Edinburgh 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,”  1838. 

Mr.  Paley’s  Letter,  “ London  Medical  Gazette,”  1839. 

Remarks  at  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society,  “Lancet,” 
1840. 

Dr.  Rigby’s  “System  of  Midwifery,”  1841. 

“Nunneley  on  Erysipelas,”  a work  which  contains  a large 
number  of  references  on  the  subject,  1841. 

“British  and  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,”  1842. 

Dr.  S.  Jackson,  of  Northumberland,  as  already  quoted 
from  the  Summary  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  1842. 

And,  lastly,  a startling  series  of  cases  by  Mr.  Storrs,  of 
Doncaster,  to  be  found  in  the  “American  Journal  of  the 
Medical  Sciences”  for  January,  1843. 

The  relation  of  puerperal  fever  with  other  continued 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


263 


fevers  would  seem  to  be  remote  and  rarely  obvious.  Hey 
refers  to  two  cases  of  synochus  occurring  in  the  Royal 
Infirmary  of  Edinburgh,  in  women  who  had  attended  upon 
puerperal  patients.  Dr.  Collins  refers  to  several  instances 
in  which  puerperal  fever  has  appeared  to  originate  from  a 
continued  proximity  to  patients  suffering  with  typhus.83 

Such  occurrences  as  those  just  mentioned,  though  most 
important  to  be  remembered  and  guarded  against,  hardly 
attract  our  notice  in  the  midst  of  the  gloomy  facts  by 
which  they  are  surrounded.  Of  these  facts,  at  the  risk  of 
fatiguing  repetitions,  I have  summoned  a sufficient  number, 
as  I believe,  to  convince  the  most  incredulous  that  every 
attempt  to  disguise  the  truth  which  underlies  them  all  is 
useless. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  historians  of  the  disease, 
especially  Hulme,  Hull,  and  Leake,  in  England;  Tonnelle, 
Duges,  and  Baudelocque,  in  France,  profess  not  to  have 
found  puerperal  fever  contagious.  At  the  most  they  give 
us  mere  negative  facts,  worthless  against  an  extent  of  evi- 
dence which  now  overlaps  the  widest  range  of  doubt,  and 
doubles  upon  itself  in  the  redundancy  of  superfluous  demon- 
stration. Examined  in  detail,  this  and  much  of  the  show  of 
testimony  brought  up  to  stare  the  daylight  of  conviction  out 
of  countenance,  proves  to  be  in  a great  measure  unmeaning 
and  inapplicable,  as  might  be  easily  shown  were  it  neces- 
sary. Nor  do  I feel  the  necessity  of  enforcing  the  conclu- 
sion which  arises  spontaneously  from  the  facts  which  have 
been  enumerated  by  formally  citing  the  opinions  of  those 
grave  authorities  who  have  for  the  last  half-century  been 
sounding  the  unwelcome  truth  it  has  cost  so  many  lives  to 
establish. 

“It  is  to  the  British  practitioner,”  says  Dr.  Rigby,  “that  we 
are  indebted  for  strongly  insisting  upon  this  important  and 
dangerous  character  of  puerperal  fever.”34 

The  names  of  Gordon,  John  Clarke,  Denman,  Burns, 
Young,36  Hamilton,38  Haighton,31  Good,38  Waller,39  Blundell, 

33  Treatise  on  Midwifery,  p.  228. 

31  British  and  Foreign  Med.  Rev.  for  Janua^r,  1842. 

35  Encyc.  Britannica,  xiii,  467,  art.,  “Medicine.” 

36  Outlines  of  Midwifery,  p.  109.  87  Oral  Lectures,  etc. 

38  Study  of  Medicine,  ii,  195. 

88  Medical  and  Physical  Journal,  July,  1830. 


264 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


Gooch,  Ramsbotham,  Douglas,40  Lee,  Ingleby,  Locock,*1 
Abercrombie,42  Alison,43  Travers,44  Rigby,  and  Watson45  many 
of  whose  writings  I have  already  referred  to,  may  have  some 
influence  with  those  who  prefer  the  weight  of  authorities  to 
the  simple  deductions  of  their  own  reason  from  the  facts 
laid  before  them.  A few  Continental  writers  have  adopted 
similar  conclusions.40  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  remember  that, 
while  the  doctrine  has  been  unceremoniously  discredited  in 
one  of  the  leading  journals,47  and  made  very  light  of  by 
teachers  in  two  of  the  principal  medical  schools  of  this 
country,  Dr.  Channing  has  for  many  years  inculcated,  and 
enforced  by  examples,  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  and 
the  precautions  to  be  taken  in  the  disease  under  consideration. 

I have  no  wish  to  express  any  harsh  feeling  with  regard 
to  the  painful  subject  which  has  come  before  us.  If  there 
are  any  so  far  excited  by  the  story  of  these  dreadful  events 
that  they  ask  for  some  word  of  indignant  remonstrance  to 
show  that  science  does  not  turn  the  hearts  of  its  followers 
into  ice  or  stone,  let  me  remind  them  that  such  words  have 
been  uttered  by  those  who  speak  with  an  authority  I could 
not  claim.48  It  is  as  a lesson  rather  than  as  a reproach 
that  I call  up  the  memory  of  these  irreparable  errors  and 
wrongs.  No  tongue  can  tell  the  heart-breaking  calamity 
they  have  caused;  they  have  closed  the  eyes  just  opened 
upon  a new  world  of  love  and  happiness;  they  have  bowed 
the  strength  of  manhood  into  the  dust;  they  have  cast  the 
helplessness  of  infancy  into  the  stranger’s  arms,  or  be- 
queathed it,  with  less  cruelty,  the  death  of  its  dying  parent. 
There  is  no  tone  deep  enough  for  regret,  and  no  voice  loud 
enough  for  warning.  The  woman  about  to  become  a mother, 
or  with  her  new-born  infant  upon  her  bosom,  should  be  the 
object  of  trembling  care  and  sympathy  wherever  she  bears 
her  tender  burden  or  stretches  her  aching  limbs.  The  very 

40  Dublin  Hospital  Reports  for  1822. 

41  Library  of  Practical  Medicine,  i,  373. 

42  Researches  on  Diseases  of  the  Stomach,  etc.,  p.  181. 

43  Library  of  Practical  Medicine,  i,  96. 

44  Further  Researches  on  Constitutional  Irritation,  p.  128. 

46  London  Medical  Gazette,  February,  1842. 

40  See  British  and  Foreign  Medical  Review,  vol.  iii,  p.  525.  and  vol.  iv, 
p.  517.  Also  Ed.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal  for  July,  1824,  and  American 
Journal  of  Med.  Sciences  for  January,  1841. 

47  Phil.  Med.  Journal,  vol.  xii,  p.  364. 

48  Dr.  Blundell  and  Dr.  Rigby  in  tbe  works  already  cited. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


265 


outcast  of  the  streets  has  pity  upon  her  sister  in  degradation 
when  the  seal  of  promised  maternity  is  impressed  upon  her. 
The  remorseless  vengeance  of  the  law,  brought  down  upon 
its  victim  by  a machinery  as  sure  as  destiny,  is  arrested  in 
its  fall  at  a word  which  reveals  her  transient  claim  for 
mercy.  The  solemn  prayer  of  the  liturgy  singles  out  her 
sorrows  from  the  multiplied  trials  of  life,  to  plead  for  her 
in  the  hour  of  peril.  God  forbid  that  any  member  of  the 
profession  to  which  she  trusts  her  life,  doubly  precious  at 
that  eventful  period,  should  hazard  it  negligently,  unadvised- 
ly, or  selfishly ! 

There  may  be  some  among  those  whom  I address  who  are 
disposed  to  ask  the  question,  What  course  are  we  to  follow  in 
relation  to  this  matter?  The  facts  are  before  them,  and  the 
answer  must  be  left  to  their  own  judgment  and  conscience. 
If  any  should  care  to  know  my  own  conclusions,  they  are  the 
following;  and  in  taking  the  liberty  to  state  them  very  freely 
and  broadly,  I would  ask  the  inquirer  to  examine  them  as 
freely  in  the  light  of  the  evidence  which  has  been  laid 
before  him. 

1.  A physician  holding  himself  in  readiness  to  attend  cases 
of  midwifery  should  never  take  any  active  part  in  the  post- 
mortem examination  of  cases  of  puerperal  fever. 

2.  If  a physician  is  present  at  such  autopsies,  he  should 
use  thorough  ablution,  change  every  article  of  dress,  and 
allow  twenty-four  hours  or  more  to  elapse  before  attending 
to  any  case  of  midwifery.  It  may  be  well  to  extend  the 
same  caution  to  cases  of  simple  peritonitis. 

3.  Similar  precautions  should  be  taken  after  the  autopsy 
or  surgical  treatment  of  cases  of  erysipelas,  if  the  physician 
is  obliged  to  unite  such  offices  with  his  obstetrical  duties, 
which  is  in  the  highest  degree  inexpedient. 

4.  On  the  occurrence  of  a single  case  of  puerperal  fever 
in  his  practice,  the  physician  is  bound  to  consider  the  next 
female  he  attends  in  labor,  unless  some  weeks  at  least  have 
elapsed,  as  in  danger  of  being  infected  by  him,  and  it  is  his 
duty  to  take  every  precaution  to  diminish  her  risk  of  disease 
and  death. 

5.  If  within  a short  period  two  cases  of  puerperal  fever 
happen  close  to  each  other,  in  the  practice  of  the  same 


266 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


physician,  the  disease  not  existing  or  prevailing  in  the 
neighborhood,  he  would  do  wisely  to  relinquish  his  obstetrical 
practice  for  at  least  one  month,  and  endeavor  to  free  him- 
self by  every  available  means  from  any  noxious  influence  he 
may  carry  about  with  him. 

6.  The  occurrence  of  three  or  more  closely  connected  cases, 
in  the  practice  of  one  individual,  no  others  existing  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  no  other  sufficient  cause  being  alleged  for 
the  coincidence,  is  primd  facie  evidence  that  he  is  the  vehicle 
of  contagion. 

7.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  physician  to  take  every  precaution 
that  the  disease  shall  not  be  introduced  by  nurses  or  other 
assistants,  by  making  proper  inquiries  concerning  them,  and 
giving  timely  warning  of  every  suspected  source  of  danger. 

8.  Whatever  indulgence  may  be  granted  to  those  who  have 
heretofore  been  the  ignorant  causes  of  so  much  misery,  the 
time  has  come  when  the  existence  of  a private  pestilence  in 
the  sphere  of  a single  physician  should  be  looked  upon,  not 
as  a misfortune,  but  a crime;  and  in  the  knowledge  of  such 
occurrences  the  duties  of  the  practitioner  to  his  profession 
should  give  way  to  his  paramount  obligations  to  society 


ADDITIONAL  REFERENCES  AND  CASES. 

Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Registrar-General  of  England,  1843. 
Appendix.  Letter  from  William  Farr,  Esq. — Several  new  series  of 
cases  are  given  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Storrs,  contained  in  the  appendix 
to  this  report.  Mr.  Storrs  suggests  precautions  similar  to  those  I 
have  laid  down,  and  these  precautions  are  strongly  enforced  by  Mr. 
Farr,  who  is,  therefore,  obnoxious  to  the  same  criticisms  as  myself. 

Hall  and  Dexter,  in  Am.  Journal  of  Med.  Sc.  for  January,  1844. — 
Cases  of  puerperal  fever  seeming  to  originate  in  erysipelas. 

Elkington,  of  Birmingham,  in  Provincial  Med.  Journal,  cited  in 
Am.  Journ.  Med.  Sc.  for  April,  1844. — Six  cases  in  less  than  a fort- 
night, seeming  to  originate  in  a case  of  erysipelas. 

West’s  Reports,  in  Brit,  and  For.  Med.  Review  for  October,  1845, 
and  January,  1847. — Affection  of  the  arm,  resembling  malignant 
pustule,  after  removing  the  placenta  of  a patient  who  died  from 
puerperal  fever.  Reference  to  cases  at  Wurzburg,  as  proving  con- 
tagion, and  to  Keiller’s  cases  in  the  Monthly  Journal  for  February, 
1846,  as  showing  connection  of  puerperal  fever  and  erysipelas. 

Kneeland. — Contagiousness  of  Puerperal  Fever.  Am.  Jour.  Med. 
Sc.,  January,  1846.  Also,  Connection  between  Puerperal  Fever  and 
Epidemic  Erysipelas.  Ibid.,  April,  1846. 


PUERPERAL  FEVER 


267 


Robert  Storrs. — Contagious  Effects  of  Puerperal  Fever  on  the 
Male  Subject;  or  on  Persons  not  Child-bearing.  (From  Provincial 
Med.  and  Surg.  Journal.)  Am.  Jour.  Med.  Sc.,  January,  1846. 
Numerous  cases.  See  also  Dr.  Reid’s  case  in  same  journal  for 
April,  1846. 

Routh’s  paper  in  Proc.  of  Royal  Med.  Chir.  Soc.,  Am.  Jour.  Med. 
Sc.,  April,  1849,  also  in  B.  and  F.  Med.  Chir.  Review,  April,  1850. 

■ Hill,  of  Leuchars. — A Series  of  Cases  Illustrating  the  Contagious 
Nature  of  Erysipelas  and  Puerperal  Fever,  and  their  Intimate  Patho- 
logical Connection.  (From  Monthly  Journal  of  Med.  Sc.)  Am.  Jour. 
Med.  Sc.,  July,  1850. 

Skoda  on  the  Causes  of  Puerperal  Fever.  (Peritonitis  in  rabbits, 
from  inoculation  with  different  morbid  secretions.)  Am.  Jour.  Med. 
Sc.,  October,  1850. 

Arneth. — Paper  read  before  the  National  Academy  of  Medicine. 
Annales  d’Hygiene,  Tome  LXV.  2e  Partie.  (Means  of  Disinfection 
proposed  by  M.  “ Semmeliveis.”  Semmelweiss.)  Lotions  of  chlo- 
ride of  lime  and  use  of  nail-brush  before  admission  to  lying-in  wards. 
Alleged  sudden  and  great  decrease  of  mortality  from  puerperal  fever. 
Cause  of  disease  attributed  to  inoculation  with  cadaveric  matters.) 
See  also  Routh’s  paper,  mentioned  above. 

Moir. — Remarks  at  a meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Medico-chirurgical 
Society.  Refers  to  cases  of  Dr.  Kellie,  of  Leith.  Sixteen  in  suc- 
cession, all  fatal.  Also  to  several  instances  of  individual  pupils  hav- 
ing had  a succession  of  cases  in  various  quarters  of  the  town,  while 
others,  practising  as  extensively  in  the  same  localities,  had  none. 
Also  to  several  special  cases  not  mentioned  elsewhere.  Am.  Jour.  Med. 
Sc.  for  October,  1851.  (From  New  Monthly  Journal  of  Med.  Science.) 

Simpson. — Observations  at  a Meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Obstetrical 
Society.  (An  “ eminent  gentleman,”  according  to  Dr.  Meigs,  whose 
“ name  is  as  well  known  in  America  as  in  (his)  native  land,” 
Obstetrics,  Phil.,  1852,  pp.  368,  375.)  The  student  is  referred  to 
this  paper  for  a valuable  resume  of  many  of  the  facts,  and  the 
necessary  inferences,  relating  to  this  subject.  Also  for  another 
series  of  cases,  Mr.  Sidey’s,  five  or  six  in  rapid  succession.  Dr. 
Simpson  attended  the  dissection  of  two  of  Dr.  Sidey’s  cases,  and 
freely  handled  the  diseased  parts.  His  next  four  child-bed  patients 
were  affected  with  puerperal  fever,  and  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
seen  it  in  practice.  As  Dr.  Simpson  is  a gentleman  (Dr.  Meigs,  as 
above),  and  as  “a  gentleman’s  hands  are  clean”  (Dr.  Meigs’  sixth 
letter),  it  follows  that  a gentleman  with  clean  hands  may  carry  the 
disease.  Am.  Jour.  Med.  Sc.,  October,  1851. 

Peddle. — The  five  or  six  cases  of  Dr.  Sidey,  followed  by  the  four 
of  Dr.  Simpson,  did  not  end  the  series.  A practitioner  in  Leith 
having  examined  in  Dr.  Simpson’s  house,  a portion  of  the  uterus 
obtained  from  one  of  the  patients,  had  immediately  afterwards  three 
fatal  cases  of  puerperal  fever.  Dr.  Peddie  referred  to  two  distinct 
series  of  consecutive  cases  in  his  own  practice.  He  had  since  taken 
precautions,  and  not  met  with  any  such  cases.  Am.  Jour.  Med  Sc., 
October,  18-51. 


268 


O.  W.  HOLMES 


Copland. — Considers  it  proved  that  puerperal  fever  may  be  propa- 
gated by  the  hands  and  the  clothes,  or  either,  of  a third  person,  the 
bed-clothes  or  body-clothes  of  a patient.  Mentions  a new  series  of 
cases,  one  of  which  he  saw,  with  the  practitioner  who  had  attended 
them.  She  was  the  sixth  he  had  had  within  a few  days.  All  died. 
Dr.  Copland  insisted  that  contagion  had  caused  these  cases;  ad- 
vised precautionary  measures,  and  the  practitioner  had  no  other 
cases  for  a considerable  time.  Considers  it  criminal,  after  the  evi- 
dence adduced, — which  he  cot  d have  quadrupled, — and  the  weight 
of  authority  brought  forward,  for  a practitioner  to  be  the  medium 
of  transmitting  contagion  and  death  to  his  patients.  Dr.  Copland 
lays  down  rules  similar  to  those  suggested  by  myself,  and  is  there- 
fore entitled  to  the  same  epithet  for  so  doing.  Medical  Dictionary, 
New  York,  1852.  Article,  Puerperal  States  and  Diseases. 

If  there  is  any  appetite  for  facts  so  craving  as  to  be  yet  unap- 
peased,— lassata,  necdum  satiata, — more  can  be  obtained.  Dr.  Hodge 
remarks  that  “ the  frequency  and  importance  of  this  singular  cir- 
cumstance (that  the  disease  is  occasionally  more  prevalent  with  one 
practitioner  than  another)  has  been  exceedingly  overrated.”  More 
than  thirty  strings  of  cases,  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  suffer- 
ers from  puerperal  fever,  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  deaths, 
appear  as  the  results  of  a sparing  estimate  of  such  among  the  facts 
I have  gleaned  as  could  be  numerically  valued.  These  facts  consti- 
tute, we  may  take  it  for  granted,  but  a small  fraction  of  those  that 
have  actually  occurred.  The  number  of  them  might  be  greater,  but 
“ ’t  is  enough,  ’t  will  serve,”  in  Mercutio’s  modest  phrase,  so  far  as 
frequency  is  concerned.  For  a just  estimate  of  the  importance  of 
the  singular  circumstance,  it  might  be  proper  to  consult  the  languid 
survivors,  the  widowed  husbands,  and  the  motherless  children,  as 
well  as  “ the  unfortunate  accoucheur.” 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLE  OF 
THE  PRACTICE  OF  SURGERY 


BY 

JOSEPH  LISTER 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Joseph  Lister  was  born  at  Upton,  Essex,  England,  in  1827, 
and  received  his  general  education  at  the  University  of  London. 
After  graduation  he  studied  medicine  in  London  and  Edinburgh, 
and  became  lecturer  in  surgery  at  the  University  in  the  latter  city. 
Later  he  was  professor  of  surgery  at  Glasgow,  at  Edinburgh,  and 
at  King’s  College  Hospital,  London,  and  surgeon  to  Queen  Vic- 
toria. He  was  made  a baronet  in  1883;  retired  from  teaching  in 
1893;  and  was  raised  to  the  Peerage  in  1897,  with  the  title  of 
Baron  Lister. 

Even  before  the  work  of  Pasteur  on  fermentation  and  putre- 
faction, Lister  had  been  convinced  of  the  importance  of  scrupulous 
cleanliness  and  the  usefulness  of  deodorants  in  the  operating 
room;  and  when,  through  Pasteur’s  researches,  he  realized  that 
the  formation  of  pus  was  due  to  bacteria,  he  proceeded  to  de- 
velop his  antiseptic  surgical  methods.  The  immediate  success  of 
the  new  treatment  led  to  its  general  adoption,  with  results  of 
such  beneficence  as  to  make  it  rank  as  one  of  the  great  discoveries 
of  the  age. 


m 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLE  OF 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  SURGERY 

(1867) 

IN  the  course  of  an  extended  investigation  into  the  na- 
ture of  inflammation,  and  the  healthy  and  morbid  con- 
ditions of  the  blood  in  relation  to  it,  I arrived  several 
years  ago  at  the  conclusion  that  the  essential  cause  of 
suppuration  in  wounds  is  decomposition  brought  about 
by  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere  upon  blood  or  serum  re- 
tained within  them,  and,  in  the  case  of  contused  wounds,  upon 
portions  of  tissue  destroyed  by  the  violence  of  the  injury. 

To  prevent  the  occurrence  of  suppuration  with  all  its 
attendant  risks  was  an  object  manifestly  desirable,  but  till 
lately  apparently  unattainable,  since  it  seemed  hopeless  to 
attempt  to  exclude  the  oxygen  which  was  universally  re- 
garded as  the  agent  by  which  putrefaction  was  effected. 
But  when  it  had  been  shown  by  the  researches  of  Pasteur 
that  the  septic  properties  of  the  atmosphere  depended  not 
on  the  oxygen,  or  any  gaseous  constituent,  but  on  minute 
organisms  suspended  in  it,  which  owed  their  energy  to 
their  vitality,  it  occurred  to  me  that  decomposition  in  the 
injured  part  might  be  avoided  without  excluding  the  air, 
by  applying  as  a dressing  some  material  capable  of  de- 
stroying the  life  of  the  floating  particles.  Upon  this  prin- 
ciple I have  based  a practice  of  which  I will  now  attempt 
to  give  a short  account. 

The  material  which  I have  employed  is  carbolic  or  phenic 
acid,  a volatile  organic  compound,  which  appears  to  ex- 
ercise a peculiarly  destructive  influence  upon  low  forms  of 
life,  and  hence  is  the  most  powerful  antiseptic  with  which 
we  are  at  present  acquainted. 

The  first  class  of  cases  to  which  I applied  it  was  that 

271 


272 


LORD  LISTER 


of  compound  fractures,  in  which  the  effects  of  decompo- 
sition in  the  injured  part  were  especially  striking  and 
pernicious.  The  results  have  been  such  as  to  establish  con- 
clusively the  great  principle  that  all  local  inflammatory 
mischief  and  general  febrile  disturbances  which  follow 
severe  injuries  are  due  to  the  irritating  and  poisonous  in- 
fluence of  decomposing  blood  or  sloughs.  For  these  evils 
are  entirely  avoided  by  the  antiseptic  treatment,  so  that 
limbs  which  would  otherwise  be  unhesitatingly  condemned 
to  amputation  may  be  retained,  with  confidence  of  the  best 
results. 

In  conducting  the  treatment,  the  first  object  must  be  the 
destruction  of  any  septic  germs  which  may  have  been  in- 
troduced into  the  wounds,  either  at  the  moment  of  the 
accident  or  during  the  time  which  has  since  elapsed.  This 
is  done  by  introducing  the  acid  of  full  strength  into  all 
accessible  recesses  of  the  wound  by  means  of  a piece  of 
rag  held  in  dressing  forceps  and  dipped  into  the  liquid.1 
This  I did  not  venture  to  do  in  the  earlier  cases;  but  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  the  compound  which  carbolic 
acid  forms  with  the  blood,  and  also  any  portions  of  tissue 
killed  by  its  caustic  action,  including  even  parts  of  the  bone, 
are  disposed  of  by  absorption  and  organisation,  provided 
they  are  afterwards  kept  from  decomposing.  We  are  thus 
enabled  to  employ  the  antiseptic  treatment  efficiently  at  a 
period  after  the  occurrence  of  the  injury  at  which  it  would 
otherwise  probably  fail.  Thus  I have  now  under  my  care, 
in  Glasgow  Infirmary,  a boy  who  was  admitted  with  com- 
pound fracture  of  the  leg  as  late  as  eight  and  one-half 
hours  after  the  accident,  in  whom,  nevertheless,  all  local 
and  constitutional  disturbance  was  avoided  by  means  of 
carbolic  acid,  and  the  bones  were  soundly  united  five  weeks 
after  his  admission. 

The  next  object  to  be  kept  in  view  is  to  guard  effectually 
against  the  spreading  of  decomposition  into  the  wound 
along  the  stream  of  blood  and  serum  which  oozes  out 
during  the  first  few  days  after  the  accident,  when  the  acid 
originally  applied  has  been  washed  out  or  dissipated  by 

1 The  addition  of  a few  drops  of  water  to  a considerable  quantity  of  the 
acid,  induces  it  to  assume  permanently  the  liquid  form. 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLES 


273 


absorption  and  evaporation.  This  part  of  the  treatment 
has  been  greatly  improved  during  the  past  few  weeks. 
The  method  which  I have  hitherto  published  (see  Lancet 
for  Mar.  16th,  23rd,  30th,  and  April  27th  of  the  present 
year)  consisted  in  the  application  of  a piece  of  lint  dipped 
in  the  acid,  overlapping  the  sound  skin  to  some  extent 
and  covered  with  a tin  cap,  which  was  daily  raised  in 
order  to  touch  the  surface  of  the  lint  with  the  antiseptic. 
This  method  certainly  succeeded  well  with  wounds  of 
moderate  size;  and  indeed  I may  say  that  in  all  the  many 
cases  of  this  kind  which  have  been  so  treated  by  myself 
or  my  house-surgeons,  not  a single  failure  has  occurred. 
When,  however,  the  wound  is  very  large,  the  flow  of 
blood  and  serum  is  so  profuse,  especially  during  the  first 
twenty-four  hours,  that  the  antiseptic  application  cannot 
prevent  the  spread  of  decomposition  into  the  interior  unless 
it  overlaps  the  sound  skin  for  a very  considerable  distance, 
and  this  was  inadmissible  by  the  method  described  above, 
on  account  of  the  extensive  sloughing  of  the  surface  of 
the  cutis  which  it  would  involve.  This  difficulty  has,  how- 
ever, been  overcome  by  employing  a paste  composed  of 
common  whiting  (carbonate  of  lime),  mixed  with  a solu- 
tion of  one  part  of  carbolic  acid  in  four  parts  of  boiled 
linseed  oil  so  as  to  form  a firm  putty.  This  application 
contains  the  acid  in  too  dilute  a form  to  excoriate  the 
skin,  which  it  may  be  made  to  cover  to  any  extent  that 
may  be  thought  desirable,  while  its  substance  serves  as  a 
reservoir  of  the  antiseptic  material.  So  long  as  any  dis- 
charge continues,  the  paste  should  be  changed  daily,  and, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  chance  of  mischief  occurring  dur- 
ing the  process,  a piece  of  rag  dipped  in  the  solution  of 
carbolic  acid  in  oil  is  put  on  next  the  skin,  and  maintained 
there  permanently,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  raising  it 
along  with  the  putty.  This  rag  is  always  kept  in  an  anti- 
septic condition  from  contact  with  the  paste  above  it,  and 
destroys  any  germs  which  may  fall  upon  it  during  the  short 
time  that  should  alone  be  allowed  to  pass  in  the  changing 
of  the  dressing.  The  putty  should  be  in  a layer  about 
a quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and  may  be  advantageously  ap- 
plied rolled  out  between  two  pieces  of  thin  calico,  which 


274 


LORD  LISTER 


maintain  it  in  the  form  of  a continuous  sheet,  which  may 
be  wrapped  in  a-  moment  round  the  whole  circumference 
of  a limb  if  this  be  thought  desirable,  while  the  putty  is 
prevented  by  the  calito  from  sticking  to  the  rag  which 
is  next  the  skin.2  When  all  discharge  has  ceased,  the  use 
of  the  paste  is  discontinued,  but  the  original  rag  is  left 
adhering  to  the  skin  till  healing  by  scabbing  is  supposed 
to  be  complete.  I have  at  present  in  the  hospital  a man 
with  severe  compound  fracture  of  both  bones  of  the  left 
leg,  caused  by  direct  violence,  who,  after  the  cessation  of 
the  sanious  discharge  under  the  use  of  the  paste,  without 
a drop  of  pus  appearing,  has  been  treated  for  the  last  two 
weeks  exactly  as  if  the  fracture  was  a simple  one.  During 
this  time  the  rag,  adhering  by  means  of  a crust  of  in- 
spissated blood  collected  beneath  it,  has  continued  per- 
fectly dry,  and  it  will  be  left  untouched  till  the  usual 
period  for  removing  the  splints  in  a simple  fracture,  when 
we  may  fairly  expect  to  find  a sound  cicatrix  beneath  it. 

We  cannot,  however,  always  calculate  on  so  perfect  a 
result  as  this.  More  or  less  pus  may  appear  after  the 
lapse  of  the  first  week,  and  the  larger  the  wound,  the  more 
likely  this  is  to  happen.  And  here  I would  desire  ear- 
nestly to  enforce  the  necessity  of  persevering  with  the  anti- 
septic application  in  spite  of  the  appearance  of  suppura- 
tion, so  long  as  other  symptoms  are  favorable.  The  surgeon 
is  extremely  apt  to  suppose  that  any  suppuration  is  an 
indication  that  the  antiseptic  treatment  has  failed,  and  that 
poulticing  or  water  dressing  should  be  resorted  to.  But 
such  a course  would  in  many  cases  sacrifice  a limb  or  a 
life.  I cannot,  however,  expect  my  professional  brethren 
to  follow  my  advice  blindly  in  such  a matter,  and  there- 
fore I feel  it  necessary  to  place  before  them,  as  shortly 
as  I can,  some  pathological  principles  intimately  connected, 
not  only  with  the  point  we  are  immediately  considering, 
but  with  the  whole  subject  of  this  paper. 

If  a perfectly  healthy  granulating  sore  be  well  washed  and 

2 In  order  to  prevent  evaporation  of  the  acid,  which  passes  readily 
through  any  organic  tissue,  such  as  oiled  silk  or  gutta  percha,  it  is  well 
to  cover  the  paste  with  a sheet  of  block  tin,  or  tinfoil  strengthened  with 
adhesive  plaster.  The  thin  sheet  lead  used  for  lining  tea  chests  will  also 
answer  the  purpose,  and  may  be  obtained  from  any  wholesale  grocer. 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLES 


275 


covered  with  a plate  of  clean  metal,  such  as  block  tin,  fitting 
its  surface  pretty  accurately,  and  overlapping  the  surrounding 
skin  an  inch  or  so  in  every  direction  and  retained  in  position 
by  adhesive  plaster  and  a bandage,  it  will  be  found,  on  removing 
it  after  twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours,  that  little  or  nothing 
that  can  be  called  pus  is  present,  merely  a little  transparent 
fluid,  while  at  the  same  time  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  the 
unpleasant  odour  invariably  perceived  when  water  dressing 
is  changed.  Here  the  clean  metallic  surface  presents  no 
recesses  like  those  of  porous  lint  for  the  septic  germs  to 
develope  in,  the  fluid  exuding  from  the  surface  of  the  granu- 
lations has  flowed  away  undecomposed,  and  the  result  is  the 
absence  of  suppuration.  This  simple  experiment  illustrates 
the  important  fact  that  granulations  have  no  inherent  ten- 
dency to  form  pus,  but  do  so  only  when  subjected  to  preter- 
natural stimulus.  Further,  it  shows  that  the  mere  contact 
of  a foreign  body  does  not  of  itself  stimulate  granulations 
to  suppurate ; whereas  the  presence  of  decomposing  organic 
matter  does.  These  truths  are  even  more  strikingly  exempli- 
fied by  the  fact  that  I have  elsewhere  recorded  (Lancet, 
March  23rd,  1867),  that  a piece  of  dead  bone  free  from 
decomposition  may  not  only  fail  to  induce  the  granulations 
around  it  to  suppurate,  but  may  actually  be  absorbed  by 
them;  whereas  a bit  of  dead  bone  soaked  with  putrid  pus  in- 
fallibly induces  suppuration  in  its  vicinity. 

Another  instructive  experiment  is,  to  dress  a granulating 
sore  with  some  of  the  putty  above  described,  overlapping  the 
sound  skin  extensively;  when  we  find,  in  the  course  of 
twenty-four  hours,  that  pus  has  been  produced  by  the  sore, 
although  the  application  has  been  perfectly  antiseptic ; and, 
indeed,  the  larger  the  amount  of  carbolic  acid  in  the  paste, 
the  greater  is  the  quantity  of  pus  formed,  provided  we  avoid 
such  a proportion  as  would  act  as  a caustic.  The  carbolic 
acid,  though  it  prevents  decomposition,  induces  suppuration 
— obviously  by  acting  as  a chemical  stimulus ; and  we  may 
safely  infer  that  putrescent  organic  materials  (which  we 
know  to  be  chemically  acrid)  operate  in  the  same  way. 

In  so  far,  then,  carbolic  acid  and  decomposing  substances 
are  alike;  viz.,  that  they  induce  suppuration  by  chemical 
stimulation,  as  distinguished  from  what  may  be  termed  simple  > 


276 


LORD  LISTER 


inflammatory  suppuration,  such  as  that  in  which  ordinary 
abscesses  originate — where  the  pus  appears  to  be  formed  in 
consequence  of  an  excited  action  of  the  nerves,  inde- 
pendently of  any  other  stimulus.  There  is,  however,  this 
enormous  difference  between  the  effects  of  carbolic  acid 
and  those  of  decomposition;  viz.,  that  carbolic  acid  stimu- 
lates only  the  surface  to  which  it  is  at  first  applied,  and 
every  drop  of  discharge  that  forms  weakens  the  stimulant 
by  diluting  it;  but  decomposition  is  a self-propagating  and 
self-aggravating  poison,  and,  if  it  occur  at  the  surface  of  a 
severely  injured  limb,  it  will  spread  into  all  its  recesses  so 
far  as  any  extravasated  blood  or  shreds  of  dead  tissue  may 
extend,  and  lying  in  those  recesses,  it  will  become  from 
hour  to  hour  more  acrid,  till  it  requires  the  energy  of  a 
caustic  sufficient  to  destroy  the  vitality  of  any  tissues 
naturally  weak  from  inferior  vascular  supply,  or  weakened 
by  the  injury  they  sustained  in  the  accident. 

Hence  it  is  easy  to  understand  how,  when  a wound  is 
very  large,  the  crust  beneath  the  rag  may  prove  here  and 
there  insufficient  to  protect  the  raw  surface  from  the  stimu- 
lating influence  of  the  carbolic  acid  in  the  putty;  and  the 
result  will  be  first  the  conversion  of  the  tissues  so  acted  on 
into  granulations,  and  subsequently  the  formation  of  more 
or  less  pus.  This,  however,  will  be  merely  superficial,  and 
will  not  interfere  with  the  absorption  and  organisation  of 
extravasated  blood  or  dead  tissues  in  the  interior.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  should  decomposition  set  in  before  the  in- 
ternal parts  have  become  securely  consolidated,  the  most 
disastrous  results  may  ensue. 

I left  behind  me  in  Glasgow  a boy,  thirteen  years  of  age, 
who,  between  three  and  four  weeks  previously,  met  with  a 
most  severe  injury  to  the  left  arm,  which  he  got  entangled  in 
a machine  at  a fair.  There  was  a wound  six  inches  long  and 
three  inches  broad,  and  the  skin  was  very  extensively  under- 
mined beyond  its  limits,  while  the  soft  parts  were  generally 
so  much  lacerated  that  a pair  of  dressing  forceps  introduced 
at  the  wound  and  pushed  directly  inwards  appeared  beneath 
the  skin  at  the  opposite  aspect  of  the  limb.  From  this  wound 
several  tags  of  muscle  were  hanging,  and  among  them  was 
one  consisting  of  about  three  inches  of  the  triceps  in  almost 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLES 


27 7 


its  entire  thickness;  while  the  lower  fragment  of  the  bone, 
which  was  broken  high  up,  was  protruding  four  inches  and 
a half,  stripped  of  muscle,  the  skin  being  tucked  in  under 
it.  Without  the  assistance  of  the  antiseptic  treatment,  I 
should  certainly  have  thought  of  nothing  else  but  amputa- 
tion at  the  shoulder- joint;  but,  as  the  radial  pulse  could 
be  felt  and  the  fingers  had  sensation,  I did  not  hesitate  to 
try  to  save  the  limb  and  adopted  the  plan  of  treatment 
above  described,  wrapping  the  arm  from  the  shoulder  to 
below  the  elbow  in  the  antiseptic  application,  the  whole 
interior  of  the  wound,  together  with  the  protruding  bone, 
having  previously  been  freely  treated  with  strong  carbolic 
acid.  About  the  tenth  day,  the  discharge,  which  up  to  that 
time  had  been  only  sanious  and  serous,  showed  a slight 
admixture  of  slimy  pus;  and  this  increased  till  (a  few  days 
before  I left)  it  amounted  to  about  three  drachms  in 
twenty-four  hours.  But  the  boy  continued  as  he  had  been 
after  the  second  day,  free  from  unfavorable  symptoms, 
with  pulse,  tongue,  appetite,  and  sleep  natural  and  strength 
increasing,  while  the  limb  remained  as  it  had  been  from 
the  first,  free  from  swelling,  redness,  or  pain.  I,  there- 
fore, persevered  with  the  antiseptic  dressing;  and,  before  I 
left,  the  discharge  was  already  somewhat  less,  while  the 
bone  was  becoming  firm.  I think  it  likefy  that,  in  that  boy’s 
case,  I should  have  found  merely  a superficial  sore  had  I 
taken  off  all  the  dressings  at  the  end  of  the  three  weeks; 
though,  considering  the  extent  of  the  injury,  I thought  it 
prudent  to  let  the  month  expire  before  disturbing  the  rag 
next  the  skin.  But  I feel  sure  that,  if  I had  resorted  to 
ordinary  dressing  when  the  pus  first  appeared,  the  progress 
of  the  case  would  have  been  exceedingly  different. 

The  next  class  of  cases  to  which  I have  applied  the  anti- 
septic treatment  is  that  of  abscesses.  Here  also  the  results 
have  been  extremely  satisfactory,  and  in  beautiful  harmony 
with  the  pathological  principles  indicated  above.  The  pyo- 
genic membrane,  like  the  granulations  of  a sore,  which  it 
resembles  in  nature,  forms  pus,  not  from  any  inherent  dis- 
position to  do  so,  but  only  because  it  is  subjected  to  some 
preternatural  stimulation.  In  an  ordinary  abscess,  whether 
acute  or  chronic,  before  it  is  opened  the  stimulus  which 


278 


LORD  LISTER 


maintains  the  suppuration  is  derived  from  the  presence  of 
pus  pent  up  within  the  cavity.  When  a free  opening  is 
made  in  the  ordinary  way,  this  stimulus  is  got  rid  of,  but 
the  atmosphere  gaining  access  to  the  contents,  the  potent 
stimulus  of  decomposition  comes  into  operation,  and  pus 
is  generated  in  greater  abundance  than  before.  But  when 
the  evacuation  is  effected  on  the  antiseptic  principle,  the 
pyogenic  membrane,  freed  from  the  influence  of  the  former 
stimulus  without  the  substitution  of  a new  one,  ceases  to 
suppurate  (like  the  granulations  of  a sore  under  metallic 
dressing),  furnishing  merely  a trifling  amount  of  clear 
serum,  and,  whether  the  opening  be  dependent  or  not,  rap- 
idly contracts  and  coalesces.  At  the  same  time  any  con- 
stitutional symptoms  previously  occasioned  by  the  accumu- 
lation of  the  matter  are  got  rid  of  without  the  slightest  risk 
of  the  irritative  fever  or  hectic  hitherto  so  justly  dreaded 
in  dealing  with  large  abscesses. 

In  order  that  the  treatment  may  be  satisfactory,  the 
abscess  must  be  seen  before  it  is  opened.  Then,  except  in 
very  rare  and  peculiar  cases,3  there  are  no  septic  organisms 
in  the  contents,  so  that  it  is  needless  to  introduce  carbolic 
acid  into  the  interior.  Indeed,  such  a procedure  would  be 
objectionable,  as  it  would  stimulate  the  pyogenic  membrane 
to  unnecessary  suppuration.  All  that  is  requisite  is  to  guard 
against  the  introduction  of  living  atmospheric  germs  from 
without,  at  the  same  time  that  free  opportunity  is  afforded 
for  the  escape  of  the  discharge  from  within. 

I have  so  lately  given  elsewhere  a detailed  account  of  the 
method  by  which  this  is  effected  (Lancet,  July  27th,  1867), 
that  I shall  not  enter  into  it  at  present  further  than  to  say 
that  the  means  employed  are  the  same  as  those  described 
above  for  the  superficial  dressing  of  compound  fractures; 
viz.,  a piece  of  rag  dipped  into  the  solution  of  carbolic  acid 
in  oil  to  serve  as  an  antiseptic  curtain,  under  cover  of 
which  the  abscess  is  evacuated  by  free  incision,  and  the 
antiseptic  paste  to  guard  against  decomposition  occurring 

3 As  an  instance  of  one  of  these  exceptional  cases,  I may  mention  that 
of  an  abcess  in  the  vicinity  of  the  colon,  and  afterwards  proved  by  post- 
mortem examination  to  have  once  communicated  with  it.  Here  the  pus 
was  extremely  offensive  when  evacuated,  and  exhibited  vibrios  under  the 
microscope. 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLES 


279 


in  the  stream  of  pus  that  flows  out  beneath  it;  the  dressing 
being  changed  daily  until  the  sinus  is  closed. 

The  most  remarkable  results  of  this  practice  in  a patho- 
logical point  of  view  have  been  afforded  by  cases  where 
the  formation  of  pus  depended  on  disease  of  bone.  Here 
the  abscesses,  instead  of  forming  exceptions  to  the  gen- 
eral class  in  the  obstinacy  of  the  suppuration,  have  resem- 
bled the  rest  in  yielding  in  a few  days  only  a trifling  dis- 
charge, and  frequently  the  production  of  pus  has  ceased 
from  the  moment  of  the  evacuation  of  the  original  contents. 
Hence  it  appears  that  caries,  when  no  longer  labouring  as 
heretofore  under  the  irritation  of  decomposing  matter, 
ceases  to  be  an  opprobrium  of  surgery,  and  recovers  like 
other  inflammatory  affections.  In  the  publication  before 
alluded  to,  I have  mentioned  the  case  of  a middle-aged  man 
with  a psoas  abscess  depending  in  diseased  bone,  in  whom 
the  sinus  finally  closed  after  months  of  patient  persever- 
ance with  the  antiseptic  treatment.  Since  that  article  was 
written  I have  had  another  instance  of  abscess  equally  grat- 
ifying, but  the  differing  in  the  circumstance  that  the  disease 
and  the  recovery  were  more  rapid  in  their  course.  The 
patient  was  a blacksmith,  who  had  suffered  four  and  a half 
months  before  I saw  him  from  symptoms  of  ulceration  of 
cartilage  in  the  left  elbow.  These  had  latterly  increased  in 
severity  so  as  to  deprive  him  entirely  of  his  night’s  rest  and 
of  appetite.  I found  the  region  of  the  elbow  greatly  swol- 
len, and  on  careful  examination  found  a fluctuating  point  at 
the  outer  aspect  of  the  articulation.  I opened  it  on  the  an- 
tiseptic principle,  the  incision  evidently  penetrating  to  the 
joint,  giving  exit  to  a few  drachms  of  pus.  The  medical 
gentleman  under  whose  care  he  was  (Dr.  Macgregor,  of 
Glasgow)  supervised  the  daily  dressing  with  the  carbolic 
acid  paste  till  the  patient  went  to  spend  two  or  three  weeks 
at  the  coast,  when  his  wife  was  entrusted  with  it.  Just  two 
months  after  I opened  the  abscess,  he  called  to  show  me  the 
limb,  stating  that  the  discharge  had  been,  for  at  least  two 
weeks,  as  little  as  it  was  then,  a trifling  moisture  upon  the 
paste,  such  as  might  be  accounted  for  by  the  little  sore 
caused  by  the  incision.  On  applying  a probe  guarded  with 
an  antiseptic  rag,  I found  that  the  sinus  was  soundly  closed, 


280 


LORD  LISTER 


while  the  limb  was  free  from  swelling  or  tenderness;  and, 
although  he  had  not  attempted  to  exercise  it  much,  the  joint 
could  already  be  moved  through  a considerable  angle.  Here 
the  antiseptic  principle  had  effected  the  restoration  of  a 
joint,  which,  on  any  other  known  system  of  treatment,  must 
have  been  excised. 

Ordinary  contused  wounds  are,  of  course,  amenable  to 
the  same  treatment  as  compound  fractures,  which  are  a 
complicated  variety  of  them.  I will  content  myself  with 
mentioning  a single  instance  of  this  class  of  cases.  In  April 
last,  a volunteer  was  discharging  a rifle  when  it  burst,  and 
blew  back  the  thumb  with  its  metacarpal  bone,  so  that  it 
could  be  bent  back  as  on  a hinge  at  the  trapezial  joint,  which 
had  evidently  been  opened,  while  all  the  soft  parts  between 
the  metacarpal  bones  of  the  thumb  and  forefinger  were 
torn  through.  I need  not  insist  before  my  present  audience 
on  the  ugly  character  of  such  an  injury.  My  house-surgeon, 
Mr.  Hector  Cameron,  applied  carbolic  acid  to  the  whole 
raw  surface,  and  completed  the  dressing  as  if  for  com- 
pound fracture.  The  hand  remained  free  from  pain,  red- 
ness or  swelling,  and  with  the  exception  of  a shallow  groove, 
all  the  wound  consolidated  without  a drop  of  matter,  so 
that  if  it  had  been  a clean  cut,  it  would  have  been  regarded 
as  a good  example  of  primary  union.  The  small  granulating 
surface  soon  healed,  and  at  present  a linear  cicatrix  alone 
tells  of  the  injury  he  has  sustained,  while  his  thumb  has  all 
its  movements  and  his  hand  a fine  grasp. 

If  the  severest  forms  of  contused  and  lacerated  wounds 
heal  thus  kindly  under  the  antiseptic  treatment,  it  is  obvious 
that  its  application  to  simple  incised  wounds  must  be  merely 
a matter  of  detail.  I have  devoted  a good  deal  of  attention 
to  this  class,  but  I have  not  as  yet  pleased  myself  altogether 
with  any  of  the  methods  I have  employed.  I am,  however, 
prepared  to  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  a solution  of  carbolic  acid 
in  twenty  parts  of  water,  while  a mild  and  cleanly  application, 
may  be  relied  on  for  destroying  any  septic  germs  that  may 
fall  upon  the  wound  during  the  performance  of  an  operation ; 
and  also  that,  for  preventing  the  subsequent  introduction 
of  others,  the  paste  above  described,  applied  as  for  com- 
pound fractures,  gives  excellent  results.  Thus  I have  had  a 


ON  THE  ANTISEPTIC  PRINCIPLES 


281 


case  of  strangulated  inguinal  hernia  in  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  away  half  a pound  of  thickened  omentum,  heal 
without  any  deep-seated  suppuration  or  any  tenderness  of 
the  sac  or  any  fever ; and  amputations,  including  one  imme- 
diately below  the  knee,  have  remained  absolutely  free  from 
constitutional  symptoms. 

Further,  I have  found  that  when  the  antiseptic  treatment 
is  efficiently  conducted,  ligatures  may  be  safely  cut  short 
and  left  to  be  disposed  of  by  absorption  or  otherwise.  Should 
this  particular  branch  of  the  subject  yield  all  that  it  prom- 
ises, should  it  turn  out  on  further  trial  that  when  the  knot  is 
applied  on  the  antiseptic  principle,  we  may  calculate  as 
securely  as  if  it  were  absent  on  the  occurrence  of  healing 
without  any  deep-seated  suppuration,  the  deligation  of  main 
arteries  in  their  continuity  will  be  deprived  of  the  two 
dangers  that  now  attend  it,  viz.,  those  of  secondary  haemor- 
rhage and  an  unhealthy  state  of  the  wound.  Further,  it 
seems  not  unlikely  that  the  present  objection  to  tying  an 
artery  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a large  branch  may  be 
done  away  with ; and  that  even  the  innominate,  which  has 
lately  been  the  subject  of  an  ingenious  experiment  by  one 
of  the  Dublin  surgeons,  on  account  of  its  well-known  fa- 
tality under  the  ligature  for  secondary  haemorrhage,  may 
cease  to  have  this  unhappy  character  when  the  tissues  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  thread,  instead  of  becoming  softened 
through  the  influence  of  an  irritating  decomposing  sub- 
stance, are  left  at  liberty  to  consolidate  firmly  near  an  un- 
offending though  foreign  body. 

It  would  carry  me  far  beyond  the  limited  time  which,  by 
the  rules  of  the  Association,  is  alone  at  my  disposal,  were  I 
to  enter  into  the  various  applications  of  the  antiseptic  prin- 
ciple in  the  several  special  departments  of  surgery. 

There  is,  however,  one  point  more  that  I cannot  but  ad- 
vert to,  viz.,  the  influence  of  this  mode  of  treatment  upon 
the  general  healthiness  of  an  hospital.  Previously  to  its  in- 
troduction the  two  large  wards  in  which  most  of  my  cases 
of  accident  and  of  operation  are  treated  were  among  the 
unhealthiest  in  the  whole  surgical  division  of  the  Glasgow 
Royal  Infirmary,  in  consequence  apparently  of  those  wards 
being  unfavorably  placed  with  reference  to  the  supply  of 


282 


LORD  LISTER 


fresh  air;  and  I have  felt  ashamed  when  recording  the  re- 
sults of  my  practice,  to  have  so  often  to  allude  to  hospital 
gangrene  or  pyaemia.  It  was  interesting,  though  melancholy, 
to  observe  that  whenever  all  or  nearly  all  the  beds  con- 
tained cases  with  open  sores,  these  grievous  complications 
were  pretty  sure  to  show  themselves;  so  that  I came  to  wel- 
come simple  fractures,  though  in  themselves  of  little  interest 
either  for  myself  or  the  students,  because  their  presence 
diminished  the  proportion  of  open  sores  among  the  patients. 
But  since  the  antiseptic  treatment  has  been  brought  into 
full  operation,  and  wounds  and  abscesses  no  longer  poison 
the  atmosphere  with  putrid  exhalations,  my  wards,  though 
in  other  respects  under  precisely  the  same  circumstances 
as  before,  have  completely  changed  their  character ; so  that 
during  the  last  nine  months  not  a single  instance  of  pyaemia, 
hospital  gangrene,  or  erysipelas  has  occurred  in  them. 

As  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt  regarding  the  cause  of 
this  change,  the  importance  of  the  fact  can  hardly  be 
exaggerated. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGICAL  THEORY 
OF  FERMENTATION 


bt 

LOUIS  PASTEUR 

TRANSLATED  BY 

F.  FAULKNER  AND  D.  C.  ROBB 

AND  REVISED 

THE  GERM  THEORY  AND 
ITS  APPLICATIONS  TO  MEDICINE 
AND  SURGERY 


BY 

MM.  PASTEUR,  JOURBERT,  AND  CHAMBERLAND 

TRANSLATED  BY 

H.  C.  ERNST,  M.  D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  BACTERIOLOGY  IN  THE  HARVARD  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


ON  THE  EXTENSION  OF  THE 
GERM  THEORY  TO  THE  ETIOLOGY 
OF  CERTAIN  COMMON  DISEASES 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 
TRANSLATED  BY 
H.  C.  ERNST,  M.  D. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Louis  Pasteur  was  born  at  Dole,  Jura,  France,  December  27, 
1822,  and  died  near  Saint-Cloud,  September  28,  1895.  His  interest 
in  science,  and  especially  in  chemistry,  developed  early,  and  by 
the  time  he  was  twenty-six  he  was  professor  of  the  physical 
sciences  at  Dijon.  The  most  important  academic  positions  held 
by  him  later  were  those  as  professor  of  chemistry  at  Strasburg, 
1849;  dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  at  Lille,  1854;  science 
director  of  the  Ecole  Normale  Superieure,  Paris,  1857;  professor 
of  geology,  physics,  and  chemistry  at  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts ; 
professor  of  chemistry  at  the  Sorbonne,  1867.  After  1875  he  car- 
ried on  his  researches  at  the  Pasteur  Institute.  He  was  a mem- 
ber of  the  Institute,  and  received  many  honors  from  learned 
societies  at  home  and  abroad. 

In  respect  of  the  number  and  importance,  practical  as  well  as 
scientific,  of  his  discoveries,  Pasteur  has  hardly  a rival  in  the 
history  of  science.  He  may  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  modern 
stereo-chemistry ; and  his  discovery  that  living  organisms  are  the 
cause  of  fermentation  is  the  basis  of  the  whole  modern  germ- 
theory  of  disease  and  of  the  antiseptic  method  of  treatment.  His 
investigations  of  the  diseases  of  beer  and  wine;  of  pebrine,  a 
disease  affecting  silk-worms ; of  anthrax,  and  of  fowl  cholera, 
were  of  immense  commercial  importance  and  led  to  conclusions 
which  have  revolutionized  physiology , pathology , and  therapeutics. 
By  his  studies  in  the  culture  of  bacteria  of  attenuated  virulence 
he  extended  widely  the  practise  of  inoculation  with  a milder  form 
of  various  diseases,  with  a view  to  producing  immunity. 

The  following  papers  present  some  of  the  most  important  of  his 
contributions,  and  exemplify  his  extraordinary  powers  of  lucid 
exposition  and  argument. 


284 


TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF  MY  FATHER 

FORMERLY  A SOLDIER  UNDER  THE  FIRST  EMPIRE 
CHEVALIER  OF  THE  LEGION  OF  HONOR 

The  longer  I live,  the  better  I understand  the  kindness  of 
thy  heart  and  the  high  quality  of  thy  mind. 

The  efforts  which  I have  devoted  to  these  Studies,  as  well 
as  those  which  preceded  them,  are  the  fruit  of  thy  counsel  and 
example. 

Desiring  to  honor  these  filial  remembrances,  I dedicate  this 
work  to  thy  memory. 


L.  Pasteur. 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE 


Our  misfortunes  inspired  me  with  the  idea  of  these  re- 
searches. I undertook  them  immediately  after  the  war  of  1870, 
and  have  since  continued  them  without  interruption,  with  the 
determination  of  perfecting  them,  and  thereby  benefiting  a 
branch  of  industry  wherein  we  are  undoubtedly  surpassed  by 
Germany. 

I am  convinced  that  I have  found  a precise,  practical  solu- 
tion of  the  arduous  problem  which  I proposed  to  myself — that 
of  a process  of  manufacture,  independent  of  season  and  locality, 
which  should  obviate  the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  the 
costly  methods  of  cooling  employed  in  existing  processes,  and 
at  the  same  time  secure  the  preservation  of  its  products  for  any 
length  of  time. 

These  new  studies  are  based  on  the  same  principles  which 
guided  me  in  my  researches  on  wine,  vinegar,  and  the  silk- 
worm disease — principles,  the  applications  of  which  are  practi- 
cally unlimited.  The  etiology  of  contagious  diseases  may,  per- 
haps, receive  from  them  an  unexpected  light. 

I need  not  hazard  any  prediction  concerning  the  advantages 
likely  to  accrue  to  the  brewing  industry  from  the  adoption  of 
such  a process  of  brewing  as  my  study  of  the  subject  has  en- 
abled me  to  devise,  and  from  an  application  of  the  novel  facts 
upon  which  this  process  is  founded.  Time  is  the  best  appraiser 
of  scientific  work,  and  I am  not  unaware  that  an  industrial 
discovery  rarely  produces  all  its  fruit  in  the  hands  of  its  first 
inventor. 

I began  my  researches  at  Clermont-Ferrand,  in  the  laboratory, 
and  with  the  help,  of  my  friend  M.  Duclaux,  professor  of  chem- 
istry at  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  of  that  town.  I continued  them 
in  Paris,  and  afterwards  at  the  great  brewery  of  Tourtel 
Brothers,  of  Tantonville,  which  is  admitted  to  be  the  first  in 
France.  I heartily  thank  these  gentlemen  for  their  extreme 

287 


288 


PREFACE 


kindness.  I owe  also  a public  tribute  of  gratitude  to  M.  Kuhn, 
a skillful  brewer  of  Chamalieres,  near  Clermont-Ferrand,  as 
well  as  to  M.  Velten  of  Marseilles,  and  to  MM.  de  Tassigny,  of 
Reims,  who  have  placed  at  my  disposal  their  establishments  and 
their  products,  with  the  most  praiseworthy  eagerness. 

L.  Pasteur, 

Paris,  June  i,  1879. 


THE 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  THEORY 
OF  FERMENTATION 


§ I.  On  the  Relations  Existing  Between  Oxygen 
and  Yeast 

IT  is  characteristic  of  science  to  reduce  incessantly  the 
number  of  unexplained  phenomena.  It  is  observed,  for 
instance,  that  fleshy  fruits  are  not  liable  to  fermenta- 
tion so  long  as  their  epidermis  remains  uninjured.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  ferment  very  readily  when  they  are  piled 
up  in  heaps  more  or  less  open,  and  immersed  in  their 
saccharine  juice.  The  mass  becomes  heated  and  swells; 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  disengaged,  and  the  sugar  disap- 
pears and  is  replaced  by  alcohol.  Now,  as  to  the  question 
of  the  origin  of  these  spontaneous  phenomena,  so  remark- 
able in  character  as  well  as  usefulness  for  man’s  service, 
modern  knowledge  has  taught  us  that  fermentation  is  the 
consequence  of  a development  of  vegetable  cells  the  germs 
of  which  do  not  exist  in  the  saccharine  juices  within 
fruits;  that  many  varieties  of  these  cellular  plants  exist, 
each  giving  rise  to  its  own  particular  fermentation.  The 
principal  products  of  these  various  fermentations,  although 
resembling  each  other  in  their  nature,  differ  in  their 
relative  proportions  and  in  the  accessory  substances  that 
accompany  them,  a fact  which  alone  is  sufficient  to  account 
for  wide  differences  in  the  quality  and  commercial  value 
of  alcoholic  beverages. 

Now  that  the  discovery  of  ferments  and  their  living 
nature,  and  our  knowledge  of  their  origin,  may  have 
solved  the  mystery  of  the  spontaneous  appearance  of  fer- 
mentations in  natural  saccharine  juices,  we  may  ask  whether 
we  must  still  regard  the  reactions  that  occur  in  these 
fermentations  as  phenomena  inexplicable  by  the  ordinary 

289 

(io)  HC  XXXVIII 


290 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


laws  of  chemistry.  We  can  readily  see  that  fermentations 
occupy  a special  place  in  the  series  of  chemical  and  bio- 
logical phenomena.  What  gives  to  fermentations  certain 
exceptional  characters  of  which  we  are  only  now  begin- 
ning to  suspect  the  causes,  is  the  mode  of  life  in  the 
minute  plants  designated  under  the  generic  name  of  fer- 
ments, a mode  of  life  which  is  essentially  different  from 
that  in  other  vegetables,  and  from  which  result  phenomena 
equally  exceptional  throughout  the  whole  range  of  the 
chemistry  of  living  beings. 

The  least  reflection  will  suffice  to  convince  us  that  the 
alcoholic  ferments  must  possess  the  faculty  of  vegetating 
and  performing  their  functions  out  of  contact  with  air. 
Let  us  consider,  for  instance,  the  method  of  vintage  prac- 
tised in  the  Jura.  The  bunches  are  laid  at  the  foot  of 
the  vine  in  a large  tub,  and  the  grapes  there  stripped 
from  them.  When  the  grapes,  some  of  which  are  uninjured, 
others  bruised,  and  all  moistened  by  the  juice  issuing  from 
the  latter,  fill  the  tub — where  they  form  what  is  called  the 
vintage — they  are  conveyed  in  barrels  to  large  vessels  fixed 
in  cellars  of  a considerable  depth.  These  vessels  are  not 
filled  to  more  than  three-quarters  of  their  capacity.  Fer- 
mentation soon  takes  place  in  them,  and  the  carbonic  acid 
gas  finds  escape  through  the  bunghole,  the  diameter  of 
which,  in  the  case  of  the  largest  vessels,  is  not  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  centimetres  (about  four  inches).  The  wine 
is  not  drawn  off  before  the  end  of  two  or  three  months. 
In  this  way  it  seems  highly  probable  that  the  yeast  which 
produces  the  wine  under  such  conditions  must  have  de- 
veloped, to  a great  extent  at  least,  out  of  contact  with 
oxygen.  No  doubt  oxygen  is  not  entirely  absent  from  the 
first ; nay,  its  limited  presence  is  even  a necessity  to  the 
manifestation  of  the  phenomena  which  follow.  The  grapes 
are  stripped  from  the  bunch  in  contact  with  air,  and  the 
must  which  drops  from  the  wounded  fruit  takes  a little 
of  this  gas  into  solution.  This  small  quantity  of  air  so 
introduced  into  the  must,  at  the  commencement  of  opera- 
tions, plays  a most  indispensable  part,  it  being  from  the 
presence  of  this  that  the  spores  of  ferments  which  are 
spread  over  the  surface  of  the  grapes  and  the  woody  part 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


291 


of  the  bunches  derive  the  power  of  starting  their  vital 
phenomena.1  This  air,  however,  especially  when  the  grapes 
have  been  stripped  from  the  bunches,  is  in  such  small  propor- 
tion, and  that  which  is  in  contact  with  the  liquid  mass  is 
so  promptly  expelled  by  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  is  evolved 
as  soon  as  a little  yeast  has  formed,  that  it  will  readily  be 
admitted  that  most  of  the  yeast  is  produced  apart  from  the 
influence  of  oxygen,  whether  free  or  in  solution.  We  shall 
revert  to  this  fact,  which  is  of  great  importance.  At  present 
we  are  only  concerned  in  pointing  out  that,  from  the  mere 
knowledge  of  the  practices  of  certain  localities,  we  are  in- 
duced to  believe  that  the  cells  of  yeast,  after  they  have 
developed  from  their  spores,  continue  to  live  and  multiply 
without  the  intervention  of  oxygen,  and  that  the  alcoholic 
ferments  have  a mode  of  life  which  is  probably  quite  ex- 
ceptional, since  it  is  not  generally  met  with  in  other  species, 
vegetable  or  animal. 

Another  equally  exceptional  characteristic  of  yeast  and 
fermentation  in  general  consists  in  the  small  proportion 
which  the  yeast  that  forms  bears  to  the  sugar  that  de- 
composes. In  all  other  known  beings  the  weight  of  nutri- 
tive matter  assimilated  corresponds  with  the  weight  of  food 
used  up,  any  difference  that  may  exist  being  comparatively 
small.  The  life  of  yeast  is  entirely  different.  For  a certain 
weight  of  yeast  formed,  we  may  have  ten  times,  twenty 
times,  a hundred  times  as  much  sugar,  or  even  more  de- 
composed, as  we  shall  experimentally  prove  by-and-bye ; that 
is  to  say,  that  whilst  the  proportion  varies  in  a precise 
manner,  according  to  conditions  which  we  shall  have  oc- 
casion to  specify,  it  is  also  greatly  out  of  proportion  to  the 
weight  of  the  yeast.  We  repeat,  the  life  of  no  other  being, 
under  its  normal  physiological  conditions,  can  show  any- 
thing similar.  The  alcoholic  ferments,  therefore,  present 
themselves  to  us  as  plants  which  possess  at  least  two  singular 
properties : they  can  live  without  air,  that  is  without  oxygen, 
and  they  can  cause  decomposition  to  an  amount  which, 

1 It  has  been  remarked  in  practice  that  fermentation  is  facilitated  by 
leaving  the  grapes  on  the  bunches.  The  reason  of  this  has  not  yet  been 
discovered.  Still  we  have  no  doubt  that  it  may  be  attributed,  principally, 
to  the  fact  that  the  interstices  between  the  grapes,  and  the  spaces  which  the 
bunch  leaves  throughout,  considerably  increase  the  volume  of  air  placed  at 
the  service  of  the  germs  of  ferment. 


292 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


though  variable,  yet,  as  estimated  by  weight  of  product 
formed,  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  weight  of  their  own 
substance.  These  are  facts  of  so  great  importance,  and  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  theory  of  fermentation,  that 
it  is  indispensable  to  endeavour  to  establish  them  experi- 
mentally, with  all  the  exactness  of  which  they  will  admit. 

The  question  before  us  is  whether  yeast  is  in  reality  an 
anaerobian2  plant,  and  what  quantities  of  sugar  it  may 
cause  to  ferment,  under  the  various  conditions  under  which 
we  cause  it  to  act. 

The  following  experiments  were  undertaken  to  .solve  this 
double  problem : — We  took  a double-necked  flask,  of  three 
litres  (five  pints)  capacity,  one  of  the  tubes  being  curved  and 
forming  an  escape  for  the  gas;  the  other  one,  on  the  right 
hand  side  (Fig.  l),  being  furnished  with  a glass  tap.  We 
filled  this  flask  with  pure  yeast  water,  sweetened  with  5 
per  cent,  of  sugar  candy,  the  flask  being  so  full  that  there 
was  not  the  least  trace  of  air  remaining  above  the  tap  or  in 
the  escape  tube ; this  artificial  wort  had,  however,  been  it- 
self aerated.  The  curved  tube  was  plunged  in  a porcelain 
vessel  full  of  mercury,  resting  on  a firm  support.  In  the 
small  cylindrical  funnel  above  the  tap,  the  capacity  of  which 
was  from  10  cc.  to  15  cc.  (about  half  a fluid  ounce)  we 
caused  to  ferment,  at  a temperature  of  20°  or  25  0 C.  (about 
750  F.),  five  or  six  cubic  centimetres  of  the  saccharine 
liquid,  by  means  of  a trace  of  yeast,  which  multiplied  rap v ’.j, 
causing  fermentation,  and  forming  a slight  deposit  of  yeast 
at  the  bottom  of  the  funnel  above  the  tap.  We  then  opened 
the  tap,  and  some  of  the  liquid  in  the  funnel  entered  the 
flask,  carrying  with  it  the  small  deposit  of  yeast,  which  was 
sufficient  to  impregnate  the  saccharine  liquid  contained  in 
the  flask.  In  this  manner  it  is  possible  to  introduce  as 
small  a quantity  of  yeast  as  we  wish,  a quantity  the  weight 
of  which,  we  may  say,  is  hardly  appreciable.  The  yeast 
sown  multiplies  rapidly  and  produces  fermentation,  the 
carbonic  gas  from  which  is  expelled  into  the  mercury.  In 
less  than  twelve  days  all  the  sugar  had  disappeared,  and  the 
fermentation  had  finished.  There  was  a sensible  deposit  of 
yeast  adhering  to  the  sides  of  the  flask;  collected  and  dried 

2 Capable  of  living  without  free  oxygen — a term  invented  by  Pasteur. — Ed. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


293 


it  weighed  2.25  grammes  (34  grains).  It  is  evident  that  in 
this  experiment  the  total  amount  of  yeast  formed,  if  it  re- 
quired oxygen  to  enable  it  to  live,  could  not  have  absorbed, 
at  most,  more  than  the  volume  which  was  originally  held 


Fig.  1 


in  solution  in  the  saccharine  liquid,  when  that  was  exposed 
to  the  air  before  being  introduced  into  the  flask. 

Some  exact  experiments  conducted  by  M.  Raulin  in  our 
laboratory  have  established  the  fact  that  saccharine  worts, 
like  water,  soon  become  saturated  when  shaken  briskly  with 
an  excess  of  air,  and  also  that  they  always  take  into  solution 
a little  less  air  than  saturated  pure  water  contains  under  the 
same  conditions  of  temperature  and  pressure.  At  a tempera- 
ture of  250  C.  (770  F.),  therefore,  if  we  adopt  the  coefficient 
of  the  solubility  of  oxygen  in  water  given  in  Bunsen’s  tables, 
we  find  that  1 litre  (i)4  pints)  of  water  saturated  with  air 
contains  5.5  cc.  (0.3  cubic  inch)  of  oxygen.  The  three  litres 
of  yeast-water  in  the  flask,  supposing  it  to  have  been  satu- 
rated, contains  less  than  16.5  cc.  (1  cubic  inch)  of  oxygen, 
or,  in  weight,  less  than  23  milligrammes  (0.35  grains).  This 


294 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


was  the  maximum  amount  of  oxygen,  supposing  the  greatest 
possible  quantity  to  have  been  absorbed,  that  was  required 
by  the  yeast  formed  in  the  fermentation  of  150  grammes 
(4.8  Troy  ounces)  of  sugar.  We  shall  better  understand  the 
significance  of  this  result  later  on.  Let  us  repeat  the  fore- 


going experiment,  but  under  altered  conditions.  Let  us  fill, 
as  before,  our  flask  with  sweetened  yeast-water,  but  let  this 
first  be  boiled,  so  as  to  expel  all  the  air  it  contains.  To 
effect  this  we  arrange  our  apparatus  as  represented  in  the 
accompanying  sketch.  (Fig.  2.)  We  place  our  flask,  A,  on 
a tripod  above  a gas  flame,  and  in  place  of  the  vessel  of 
mercury  substitute  a porcelain  dish,  under  which  we  can  put 
a gas  flame,  and  which  contains  some  fermentable,  sac- 
charine liquid,  similar  to  that  with  which  the  flask  is  filled. 
We  boil  the  liquid  in  the  flask  and  that  in  the  basin  simul- 
taneously, and  then  let  them  cool  down  together,  so  that  as 
the  liquid  in  the  flask  cools  some  of  the  liquid  is  sucked  from 
the  basin  into  the  flask.  From  a trial  experiment  which  we 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


295 


conducted,  determining  the  quantity  of  oxygen  that  remained 
in  solution  in  the  liquid  after  cooling,  according  to  M.  Schiit- 
zenberger’s  valuable  method,  by  means  of  hydrosulphite  of 
soda,3  we  found  that  the  three  litres  in  the  flask,  treated  as 
we  have  described,  contained  less 
than  one  milligramme  (0.015  grain) 
of  oxygen.  At  the  same  time  we 
conducted  anot'  er  experiment,  by 
way  of  comparison  (Fig.  3).  We 
took  a flask,  B,  of  larger  capacity 
than  the  former  one,  which  we 
filled  about  half  with  the  same 
volume  as  before  of  a saccharine 
liquid  of  identically  the  same  com- 
position. This  liquid  had  been 
previously  freed  from  alterative 
germs  by  boiling.  In  the  funnel 
surmounting  A,  we  put  a few  cubic 
centimetres  of  saccharine  liquid  in 
a state  of  fermentation,  and  when 
this  small  quantity  of  liquid  was 
in  full  fermentation,  and  the  yeast 

. .,  ’ . J Fig.  3 

in  it  was  young  and  vigorous,  we 

opened  the  tap,  closing  it  again  immediately,  so  that  a little 
of  the  liquid  and  yeast  still  remained  in  the  funnel.  By  this 
means  we  caused  the  liquid  in  A to  ferment.  We  also  im- 
pregnated the  liquid  in  B with  some  yeast  taken  from  the 
funnel  of  A.  We  then  replaced  the  porcelain  dish  in  which 
the  curved  escape  tube  of  A had  been  plunged,  by  a vessel 
filled  with  mercury.  The  following  is  a description  of  two 
of  these  comparative  fermentations  and  the  results  they  gave. 

The  fermentable  liquid  was  composed  of  yeast-water 
sweetened  with  5 per  cent,  of  sugar-candy;  the  ferment 
employed  was  sacchormyces  pastorianus. 

The  impregnation  took  place  on  January  20th.  The  flasks 
were  placed  in  an  oven  at  250  (770  F.). 

Flask  A,  without  air. 

January  21st. — Fermentation  commenced;  a little  frothy  liquid 
issued  from  the  escape  tube  and  covered  the  mercury. 

3 NaHS02,  now  called  Sodium  hyposulphite. — D.  C.  R. 


296 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


The  following  days,  fermentation  was  active.  Examining  the 
yeast  mixed  with  the  froth  that  was  expelled  into  the  mercury  by 
the  evolution  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  we  find  that  it  was  very  fine, 
young,  and  actively  budding. 

February  3rd. — Fermentation  still  continued,  showing  itself  by  a 
number  of  little  bubbles  rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  liquid,  which 
had  settled  bright.  The  yeast  was  at  the  bottom  in  the  form  of 
a deposit. 

February  7th. — Fermentation  still  continued,  but  very  languidly. 

February  9th. — A very  languid  fermentation  still  went  on,  discern- 
ible in  little  bubbles  rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  flask. 

Flask  B,  with  air. 

January  21st.— A sensible  development  of  yeast. 

The  following  days,  fermentation  was  active,  and  there  was  an 
abundant  froth  on  the  surface  of  the  liquid. 

February  1st. — All  symptoms  of  fermentation  had  ceased. 

As  the  fermentation  in  A would  have  continued  a long 
time,  being  so  very  languid,  and  as  that  in  B had  been 
finished  for  several  days,  we  brought  to  a close  our  two  ex- 
periments on  February  9th.  To  do  this  we  poured  off  the 
liquids  in  A and  B,  collecting  the  yeasts  on  tared  filters. 
Filtration  was  an  easy  matter,  more  especially  in  the  case 
of  A.  Examining  the  yeasts  under  the  microscope,  im- 
mediately after  decantation,  we  found  that  both  of  them  re- 
mained very  pure.  The  yeast  in  A was  in  little  clusters,  the 
globules  of  which  were  collected  together,  and  appeared 
by  their  well-defined  borders  to  be  ready  for  an  easy  revival 
in  contact  with  air. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  liquid  in  flask  B did 
not  contain  the  least  trace  of  sugar ; that  in  the  flask  A 
still  contained  some,  as  was  evident  from  the  non-completion 
of  fermentation,  but  not  more  than  4.6  grammes  (71  grains)- 
Now,  as  each  flask  originally  contained  three  litres  of  liquid 
holding  in  solution  5 per  cent,  of  sugar,  it  follows  that  150 
grammes  (2,310  grains)  of  sugar  had  fermented  in  the  flask 
B,  and  145.4  grammes  (2,239.2  grains)  in  the  flask  A.  The 
weights  of  yeast  after  drying  at  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.)  were — 

For  the  flask  B,  with  air....  1,970  grammes  (30.4  grains). 

For  the  flask  A,  without  air..  1,368  grammes4. 


‘This  appears  to  be  a misprint  for  1.638  grammesr=25.3  grains. — D,  C.  R 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


297 


The  proportions  were  i of  yeast  to  76  of  fermented 
sugar  in  the  first  case,  and  1 of  yeast  to  89  of  fermented 
sugar  in  the  second. 

From  these  facts  the  following  consequences  may  be  de- 
duced : 

1.  The  fermentable  liquid  (flask  B),  which  since  it  had 
been  in  contact  with  air,  necessarily  held  air  in  solution, 
although  not  to  the  point  of  saturation,  inasmuch  as  it  had 
been  once  boiled  to  free  it  from  all  foreign  germs,  furnished 
a weight  of  yeast  sensibly  greater  than  that  yielded  by  the 
liquid  which  contained  no  air  at  all  (flask  A)  or,  at  least, 
which  could  only  have  contained  an  exceedingly  minute 
quantity. 

2.  This  same  slightly  aerated  fermentable  liquid  fer- 
mented much  more  rapidly  than  the  other.  In  eight  or  ten 
days  it  contained  no  more  sugar;  while  the  other,  after 
twenty  days,  still  contained  an  appreciable  quantity. 

Is  this  last  fact  to  be  explained  by  the  greater  quantity 
of  yeast  formed  in  B ? By  no  means.  At  first,  when  the 
air  has  access  to  the  liquid,  much  yeast  is  formed  and  little 
sugar  disappears,  as  we  shall  prove  immediately;  never- 
theless the  yeast  formed  in  contact  with  the  air  is  more 
active  than  the  other.  Fermentation  is  correlative  first  to 
the  development  of  the  globules,  and  then  to  the  continued 
life  of  those  globules  once  formed.  The  more  oxygen  these 
last  globules  have  at  their  disposal  during  their  formation, 
the  more  vigorous,  transparent,  and  turgescent,  and,  as  a 
consequence  of  this  last  quality,  the  more  active  they  are 
in  decomposing  sugar.  We  shall  hereafter  revert  to  these 
facts. 

3.  In  the  airless  flask  the  proportion  of  yeast  to  sugar  was 
■gJj;  it  was  only  ^ in  the  flask  which  had  air  at  first. 

The  proportion  that  the  weight  of  yeast  bears  to  the  weight 
of  the  sugar  is,  therefore,  variable,  and  this  variation  de- 
pends, to  a certain  extent,  upon  the  presence  of  air  and  the 
possibility  of  oxygen  being  absorbed  by  the  yeast.  We 
shall  presently  show  that  yeast  possesses  the  power  of 
absorbing  that  gas  and  emitting  carbonic  acid,  like  ordinary 
fungi,  that  even  oxygen  may  be  reckoned  amongst  the  num- 
ber of  food-stuffs  that  may  be  assimilated  by  this  plant,  and 


298 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


that  this  fixation  of  oxygen  in  yeast,  as  well  as  the  oxida- 
tions resulting  from  it,  have  the  most  marked  effect  on  the 
life  of  yeast,  on  the  multiplication  of  its  cells,  and  on  their 
activity  as  ferments  acting  upon  sugar,  whether  immediately 
or  afterwards,  apart  from  supplies  of  oxygen  or  air. 

In  the  preceding  experiment,  conducted  without  the  pres- 
ence of  air,  there  is  one  circumstance  particularly  worthy 
of  notice.  This  experiment  succeeds,  that  is  to  say,  the 
yeast  sown  in  the  medium  deprived  of  oxygen  develops, 
only  when  this  yeast  is  in  a state  of  great  vigour.  We  have 
already  explained  the  meaning  of  this  last  expression.  But 
we  wish  now  to  call  attention  to  a very  evident  fact  in 
connection  with  this  point.  We  impregnate  a fermentable 
liquid;  yeast  develops  and  fermentation  appears.  This  lasts 
for  several  days  and  then  ceases.  Let  us  suppose  that,  from 
the  day  when  fermentation  first  appears  in  the  production  of 
a minute  froth,  which  gradually  increases  until  it  whitens 
the  surface  of  the  liquid,  we  take,  every  twenty-four  hours, 
or  at  longer  intervals,  a trace  of  the  yeast  deposited  on 
the  bottom  of  the  vessel  and  use  it  for  starting  fresh  fer- 
mentations. Conducting  these  fermentations  all  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  conditions  of  temperature,  character  and 
volume  of  liquid,  let  us  continue  this  for  a prolonged  time, 
even  after  the  original  fermentation  is  finished.  We  shall 
have  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  the  first  signs  of  action  in 
each  of  our  series  of  second  fermentations  appear  always 
later  and  later  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  time  that  has 
elapsed  from  the  commencement  of  the  original  fermentation. 
In  other  words,  the  time  necessary  for  the  development  of 
the  germs  and  the  production  of  that  amount  of  yeast  suf- 
ficient to  cause  the  first  appearance  of  fermentation  varies 
with  the  state  of  the  impregnating  cells,  and  is  longer  in 
proportion  as  the  cells  are  further  removed  from  the  period 
of  their  formation.  It  is  essential,  in  experiments  of  this 
kind,  that  the  quantities  of  yeast  successively  taken  should 
be  as  nearly  as  possible  equal  in  weight  or  volume,  since, 
ceteris  paribus,  fermentations  manifest  themselves  more 
quickly  the  larger  the  quantity  of  yeast  employed  in  im- 
pregnation. 

If  we  compare  under  the  microscope  the  appearance  and 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


299 


character  of  the  successive  quantities  of  yeast  taken,  we 
shall  see  plainly  that  the  structure  of  the  cells  undergoes  a 
progressive  change.  The  first  sample  which  we  take,  quite 
at  the  beginning  of  the  original  fermentation,  generally 
gives  us  cells  rather  larger  than  those  later  on,  and  pos- 
sessing a remarkable  tenderness.  Their  walls  are  exceed- 
ingly thin,  the  consistency  and  softness  of  their  protoplasm 
is  akin  to  fluidity,  and  their  granular  contents  appear  in  the 
form  of  scarcely  visible  spots.  The  borders  of  the  cells  soon 
become  more  marked,  a proof  that  their  walls  undergo  a 
thickening;  their  protoplasm  also  becomes  denser,  and  the 
granulations  more  distinct.  Cells  of  the  same  organ,  in  the 
states  of  infancy  and  old  age,  should  not  differ  more  than 
the  cells  of  which  we  are  speaking,  taken  in  their  extreme 
states.  The  progressive  changes  in  the  cells,  after  they  have 
acquired  their  normal  form  and  volume,  clearly  demon- 
strate the  existence  of  a chemical  work  of  a remarkable  in- 
tensity, during  which  their  weight  increases,  although  in 
volume  they  undergo  no  sensible  change,  a fact  that  we 
have  often  characterized  as  “ the  continued  life  of  cells  al- 
ready formed.”  We  may  call  this  work  a process  of  matura- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  cells,  almost  the  same  that  we  see 
going  on  in  the  case  of  adult  beings  in  general,  which  con- 
tinue to  live  for  a long  time,  even  after  they  have  become 
incapable  of  reproduction,  and  long  after  their  volume  has 
become  permanently  fixed. 

This  being  so,  it  is  evident,  we  repeat,  that,  to  multiply 
in  a fermentable  medium,  quite  out  of  contact  with  oxygen, 
the  cells  of  yeast  must  be  extremely  young,  full  of  life  and 
health,  and  still  under  the  influence  of  the  vital  activity 
which  they  owe  to  the  free  oxygen  which  has  served  to 
form  them,  and  which  they  have  perhaps  stored  up  for  a 
time.  When  older,  they  reproduce  themselves  with  much 
difficulty  when  deprived  of  air,  and  gradually  become  more 
languid;  and  if  they  do  multiply,  it  is  in  strange  and  mon- 
strous forms.  A little  older  still,  they  remain  absolutely 
inert  in  a medium  deprived  of  free  oxygen.  This  is  not  be- 
cause they  are  dead;  for  in  general  they  may  be  revived  in 
a marvellous  manner  in  the  same  liquid  if  it  has  been  first 
aerated  before  they  are  sown.  It  would  not  surprise  us  to 


300 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


learn  that  at  this  point  certain  preconceived  ideas  suggest 
themselves  to  the  mind  of  an  attentive  reader  on  the  subject 
of  the  causes  that  may  serve  to  account  for  such  strange 
phenomena  in  the  life  of  these  beings  which  our  ignorance 
hides  under  the  expressions  of  youth  and  age;  this,  however, 
is  a subject  which  we  cannot  pause  to  consider  here. 

At  this  point  we  must  observe — for  it  is  a matter  of  great 
importance — that  in  the  operations  of  the  brewer  there  is 
always  a time  when  the  yeasts  are  in  this  state  of  vigorous 
youth  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  acquired  under  the 
influence  of  free  oxygen,  since  all  the  worts  and  the  yeasts 
of  commerce  are  necessarily  manipulated  in  contact  with 
air,  and  so  impregnated  more  or  less  with  oxygen.  The 
yeast  immediately  seizes  upon  this  gas  and  acquires  a state 
of  freshness  and  activity,  which  permits  it  to  live  afterwards 
out  of  contact  with  air,  and  to  act  as  a ferment.  Thus,  in 
ordinary  brewery  practice,  we  find  the  yeast  already  formed 
in  abundance  even  before  the  earliest  external  signs  of  fer- 
mentation have  made  their  appearance.  In  this  first  phase 
of  its  existence,  yeast  lives  chiefly  like  an  ordinary  fungus. 

From  the  same  circumstances  it  is  clear  that  the  brewer’s 
fermentations  may,  speaking  quite  strictly,  last  for  an  in- 
definite time,  in  consequence  of  the  unceasing  supply  of 
fresh  wort,  and  from  the  fact,  moreover,  that  the  exterior 
air  is  constantly  being  introduced  during  the  work,  and  that 
the  air  contained  in  the  fresh  worts  keeps  up  the  vital  ac- 
tivity of  the  yeast,  as  the  act  of  breathing  keeps  up  the 
vigour  and  life  of  cells  in  all  living  beings.  If  the  air  could 
not  renew  itself  in  any  way,  the  vital  activity  which  the 
cells  originally  received,  under  its  influence,  would  become 
more  and  more  exhausted,  and  the  fermentation  eventually 
come  to  an  end. 

We  may  recount  one  of  the  results  obtained  in  other  ex- 
periments similar  to  the  last,  in  which,  however,  we  em- 
ployed yeast  which  was  still  older  than  that  used  for  our 
experiment  with  flask  A (Fig.  2),  and  moreover  took  still 
greater  precautions  to  prevent  the  presence  of  air.  Instead 
of  leaving  the  flask,  as  well  as  the  dish,  to  cool  slowly,  after 
having  expelled  all  air  by  boiling,  we  permitted  the  liquid 
in  the  dish  to  continue  boiling  whilst  the  flask  was  being 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


301 


cooled  by  artificial  means;  the  end  of  the  escape  tube  was 
then  taken  out  of  the  still  boiling  dish  and  plunged  into  the 
mercury  trough.  In  impregnating  the  liquid,  instead  of  em- 
ploying the  contents  of  the  small  cylindrical  funnel  whilst 
still  in  a state  of  fermentation,  we  waited  until  this  was 
finished.  Under  these  conditions,  fermentation  was  still 
going  on  in  our  flask,  after  a lapse  of  three  months.  We 
stopped  it  and  found  that  0.255  gramme  (3.9  grains)  of 
yeast  had  been  formed,  and  that  45  grammes  (693  grains) 
of  sugar  had  fermented,  the  ratio  between  the  weights  of 
yeast  and  sugar  being  thus  -°-  If-6-  = TTT-  In  this  experiment 
the  yeast  developed  with  much  difficulty,  by  reason  of  the 
conditions  to  which  it  had  been  subjected.  In  appearance 
the  cells  varied  much,  some  were  to  be  found  large,  elon- 
gated, and  of  tubular  aspect,  some  seemed  very  old  and 
were  extremely  granular,  whilst  others  were  more  trans- 
parent. All  of  them  might  be  considered  abnormal  cells. 

In  such  experiments  we  encounter  another  difficulty.  If 
the  yeast  sown  in  the  non-aerated  fermentable  liquid  is  in 
the  least  degree  impure,  especially  if  we  use  sweetened 
yeast-water,  we  may  be  sure  that  alcoholic  fermentation  will 
soon  cease,  if,  indeed,  it  ever  commences,  and  that  accessory 
fermentations  will  go  on.  The  vibrios  of  butyric  fermenta- 
tion, for  instance,  will  propagate  with  remarkable  facility 
under  these  circumstances.  Clearly  then,  the  purity  of  the 
yeast  at  the  moment  of  impregnation,  and  the  purity  of  the 
liquid  in  the  funnel,  are  conditions  indispensable  to  success. 

To  secure  the  latter  of  these  conditions,  we  close  the 
funnel,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  by  means  of  a cork  pierced  with 
two  holes,  through  one  of  which  a short  tube  passes,  to 
which  a short  length  of  india-rubber  tubing  provided  with 
a glass  stopper  is  attached ; through  the  other  hole  a thin 
curved  tube  is  passed.  Thus  fitted,  the  funnel  can  answer  the 
same  purposes  as  our  double-necked  flasks.  A few  cubic  centi- 
metres of  sweetened  yeast-water  are  put  in  it  and  boiled, 
so  that  the  steam  may  destroy  any  germs  adhering  to  the 
sides;  and  when  cold  the  liquid  is  impregnated  by  means  of 
a trace  of  pure  yeast,  introduced  through  the  glass-stoppered 
tube.  If  these  precautions  are  neglected,  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  secure  a successful  fermentation  in  our  flasks,  be- 


302 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


cause  the  yeast  sown  is  immediately  held  in  check  by  a 
development  of  anaerobian  vibrios.  For  greater  security,  we 
may  add  to  the  fermentable  liquid,  at  the  moment  when  it 
is  prepared,  a very  small  quantity  of  tartaric  acid,  which 
will  prevent  the  development  of  butyric  vibrios. 

The  variation  of  the  ratio  between  the  weight  of  the 
yeast  and  that  of  the  sugar  decomposed  by  it  now  claims 

special  attention.  Side  by  side 
with  the  experiments  which  we 
have  just  described,  we  con- 
ducted a third  lot  by  means  of 
the  flask  C (Fig.  4),  holding  4.7 
litres  (8j4  pints),  and  fitted  up 
like  the  usual  two-necked  flasks, 
with  the  object  of  freeing  the 
fermentable  liquid  from  foreign 
germs,  by  boiling  it  to  begin 
with,  so  that  we  might  carry  on 
our  work  under  conditions  of 
purity.  The  volume  of  yeast- 
water  (containing  5 per  cent,  of 
sugar)  was  only  200  cc.  (7  fl. 
oz.),  and  consequently,  taking  in- 
to account  the  capacity  of  the 
flask,  it  formed  but  a very  thin  layer  at  the  bottom.  On 
the  day  after  impregnation  the  deposit  of  yeast  was  already 
considerable,  and  forty-eight  hours  afterwards  the  fer- 
mentation was  completed.  On  the  third  day  we  collected 
the  yeast  after  having  analyzed  the  gas  contained  in 
the  flask.  This  analysis  was  easily  accomplished  by  plac- 
ing the  flask  in  a hot-water  bath,  whilst  the  end  of  the 
curved  tube  was  plunged  under  a cylinder  of  mercury.  The 
gas  contained  41.4  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid,  and,  after  the 
absorption,  the  remaining  air  contained : — 


Oxygen  19.7 

Nitrogen  80.3 


100.0 


Taking  into  consideration  the  volume  of  this  flask,  this 
shows  a minimum  of  50  cc.  (3.05  cub.  in.)  of  oxygen  to 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


308 


have  been  absorbed  by  the  yeast.  The  liquid  contained  no 
more  sugar,  and  the  weight  of  the  yeast,  dried  at  a tem- 
perature of  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.),  was  0.44  grammes.  The 
ratio  between  the  weights  of  yeast  and  sugar  is  6. 

On  this  occasion,  where  we  had  increased  the  quantity  of 
oxygen  held  in  solution,  so  as  to  yield  itself  for  assimilation 
at  the  beginning  and  during  the  earlier  developments  of  the 
yeast,  we  found  instead  of  the  previous  ratio  of  ^ that  of 

1 

STS' 

The  next  experiment  was  to  increase  the  proportion  of 
oxygen  to  a still  greater  extent,  by  rendering  the  diffusion 
of  gas  a more  easy  matter  than  in  a flask,  the  air  in  which 
is  in  a state  of  perfect  quiescence.  Such  a state  of  matters 
hinders  the  supply  of  oxygen,  inasmuch  as  the  carbonic 
acid,  as  soon  as  it  is  liberated,  at  once  forms  an  immovable 
layer  on  the  surface  of  the  liquid,  and  so  separates  off  the 
oxygen.  To  effect  the  purpose  of  our  present  experi- 
ment, we  used  flat  basins  having  glass  bottoms  and  low  sides, 

I 

also  of  glass,  in  which  the  depth  of  the  liquid  is  not  more 
than  a few  millimetres  (less  than  inch  (Fig.  5).  The 
following  is  one  of  our  experiments  so  conducted: — On 
April  16th,  i860,  we  sowed  a trace  of  beer  yeast  (“high” 
yeast)  in  200  cc.  (7  fl.  oz.)  of  a saccharine  liquid  con- 
taining 1.720  grammes  (26.2  grains)  of  sugar-candy.  From 
April  18th  our  yeast  was  in  good  condition  and  well  de- 
veloped. We  collected  it,  after  having  added  to  the  liquid 
a few  drops  of  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  with  the  object 
of  checking  the  fermentation  to  a great  extent,  and  facilitat- 
ing filtration.  The  sugar  remaining  in  the  filtered  liquid, 
determined  by  Fehling’s  solution,  showed  that  1.04  grammes 
(16  grains)  of  sugar  had  disappeared.  The  weight  of  the 
yeast,  dried  at  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.),  was  0.127  gramme  (2 
grains),  which  gives  us  the  ratio  between  the  weight  of 

6 zoo  cc.  of  liquid  were  used,  which,  as  containing  5 per  cent.,  had  in 
solution  ro  grammes  of  sugar. — D.  C.  R. 


Fig.  5 


304 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  yeast  and  that  of  the  fermented  sugar  which 

is  considerably  higher  than  the  preceding  ones. 

We  may  still  further  increase  this  ratio  by  making  our 
estimation  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  impregnation,  or 
the  addition  of  the  ferment.  It  will  be  readily  understood 
why  yeast,  which  is  composed  of  cells  that  bud  and  sub- 
sequently detach  themselves  from  one  another,  soon  forms 
a deposit  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessels.  In  consequence 
of  this  habit  of  growth,  the  cells  constantly  covering  each 
other  prevents  the  lower  layers  from  having  access  to 
the  oxygen  held  in  solution  in  the  liquid,  which  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  upper  ones.  Hence,  these  which  are  covered 
and  deprived  of  this  gas  act  on  the  sugar  without  de- 
riving any  vital  benefit  from  the  oxygen — a circumstance 
which  must  tend  to  diminish  the  ratio  of  which  we  are 
speaking.  Once  more  repeating  the  preceding  experiment, 
but  stopping  it  as  soon  as  we  think  that  the  weight  of 
yeast  formed  may  be  determined  by  the  balance  (we  find 
that  this  may  be  done  twenty-four  hours  after  impregna- 
tion with  an  inappreciable  quantity  of  yeast),  in  this  case 
the  ratio  between  the  weights  of  yeast  and  sugar  is 
0Er-  = This  is  the  highest  ratio  we  have  been 

Ogr*  0 9 8 BUgar  4 o 

able  to  obtain. 

Under  these  conditions  the  fermentation  of  sugar  is 
extremely  languid:  the  ratio  obtained  is  very  nearly  the 
same  that  ordinary  fungoid  growths  would  give.  The  car- 
bonic acid  evolved  is  principally  formed  by  the  decom- 
positions which  result  from  the  assimilation  of  atmospheric 
oxygen.  The  yeast,  therefore,  lives  and  performs  its  func- 
tions after  the  manner  of  ordinary  fungi:  so  far  it  is 
no  longer  a ferment,  so  to  say;  moreover,  we  might  expect 
to  find  it  to  cease  to  be  a ferment  at  all  if  we  could 
only  surround  each  cell  separately  with  all  the  air  that  it 
required.  This  is  what  the  preceding  phenomena  teach 
us;  we  shall  have  occasion  to  compare  them  later  on  with 
others  which  relate  to  the  vital  action  exercised  on  yeast 
by  the  sugar  of  milk. 

We  may  here  be  permitted  to  make  a digression. 

In  his  work  on  fermentations,  which  M.  Schiitzenberger 
has  recently  published,  the  author  criticises  the  deductions 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


305 


that  we  have  drawn  from  the  preceding  experiments,  and 
combats  the  explanation  which  we  have  given  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  fermentation.8  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  show 
the  weak  point  of  M.  Schiitzenberger’s  reasoning.  We 
determined  the  power  of  the  ferment  by  the  relation  of 
the  weight  of  sugar  decomposed  to  the  weight  of  the 
yeast  produced.  M.  Schiitzenberger  asserts  that  in  doing 
this  we  lay  down  a doubtful  hypothesis,  and  he  thinks  that 
this  power,  which  he  terms  fermentative  energy,  may  be 
estimated  more  correctly  by  the  quantity  of  sugar  decom- 
posed by  the  unit-weight  of  yeast  in  unit-time ; moreover, 
since  our  experiments  show  that  yeast  is  very  vigorous 
when  it  has  a sufficient  supply  of  oxygen,  and  that,  in  such 
a case,  it  can  decompose  much  sugar  in  a little  time,  M. 
Schiitzenberger  concludes  that  it  must  then  have  great 
power  as  a ferment,  even  greater  than  when  it  performs 
its  functions  without  the  aid  of  air,  since  under  this  con- 
dition it  decomposes  sugar  very  slowly.  In  short,  he  is 
disposed  to  draw  from  our  observations  the  very  opposite 
conclusion  to  that  which  we  arrived  at. 

M.  Schiitzenberger  has  failed  to  notice  that  the  power 
of  a ferment  is  independent  of  the  time  during  which  it 
performs  its  functions.  We  placed  a trace  of  yeast  in 
one  litre  of  saccharine  wort;  it  propagated,  and  all  the 
sugar  was  decomposed.  Now,  whether  the  chemical  ac- 
tion involved  in  this  decomposition  of  sugar  had  required 
for  its  completion  one  day,  or  one  month,  or  one  year, 
such  a factor  was  of  no  more  importance  in  this  matter 
than  the  mechanical  labour  required  to  raise  a ton  of 
materials  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  a house  would 
be  affected  by  the  fact  that  it  had  taken  twelve  hours 
instead  of  one.  The  notion  of  time  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  definition  of  work.  M.  Schiitzenberger  has  not 
perceived  that  in  introducing  the  consideration  of  time 
into  the  definition  of  the  power  of  a ferment,  he  must 
introduce  at  the  same  time,  that  of  the  vital  activity  of 
the  cells  which  is  independent  of  their  character  as  a 
ferment.  Apart  from  the  consideration  of  the  relation  ex- 

0 International  Science  Series,  vol.  xx,  pp.  179-182.  London,  1876. — 


306 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


isting  between  the  weight  of  fermentable  substance  de- 
composed and  that  of  ferment  produced,  there  is  no  occasion 
to  speak  of  fermentations  or  of  ferments.  The  phenomena 
of  fermentation  and  of  ferments  have  been  placed  apart 
from  others,  precisely  because,  in  certain  chemical  actions, 
that  ratio  has  been  out  of  proportion;  but  the  time  that 
these  phenomena  require  for  their  accomplishment  has 
nothing  to  do  with  either  their  existence  proper,  or  with 
their  power.  The  cells  of  a ferment  may,  under  some 
circumstances,  require  eight  days  for  revival  and  propa- 
gation, whilst,  under  other  conditions,  only  a few  hours 
are  necessary ; so  that,  if  we  introduce  the  notion  of  time 
into  our  estimate  of  their  power  of  decomposition,  we 
may  be  led  to  conclude  that  in  the  first  case  that  power 
was  entirely  wanting,  and  that  in  the  second  case  it  was 
considerable,  although  all  the  time  we  are  dealing  with  the 
same  organism — the  identical  ferment. 

M.  Schiitzenberger  is  astonished  that  fermentation  can 
take  place  in  the  presence  of  free  oxygen,  if,  as  we  sup- 
pose, the  decomposition  of  the  sugar  is  the  consequence 
of  the  nutrition  of  the  yeast,  at  the  expense  of  the  com- 
bined oxygen,  which  yields  itself  to  the  ferment.  At  all 
events,  he  argues,  fermentation  ought  to  be  slower  in  the 
presence  of  free  oxygen.  But  why  should  it  be  slower? 
We  have  proved  that  in  the  presence  of  oxygen  the  vital 
activity  of  the  cells  increases,  so  that,  as  far  as  rapidity 
of  action  is  concerned,  its  power  cannot  be  diminished. 
It  might,  nevertheless,  be  weakened  as  a ferment,  and  this 
is  precisely  what  happens.  Free  oxygen  imparts  to  the 
yeast  a vital  activity,  but  at  the  same  time  impairs  its 
power  as  yeast — qua  yeast,  inasmuch  as  under  this  condi- 
tion it  approaches  the  state  in  which  it  can  carry  on  its 
vital  processes  after  the  manner  of  an  ordinary  fungus; 
the  mode  of  life,  that  is,  in  which  the  ratio  between  the 
weight  of  sugar  decomposed  and  the  weight  of  the  new 
cells  produced  will  be  the  same  as  holds  generally  among 
organisms  which  are  not  ferments.  In  short,  varying  our 
form  of  expression  a little,  we  may  conclude  with  perfect 
truth,  from  the  sum  total  of  observed  facts,  that  the  yeast 
which  lives  in  the  presence  of  oxygen  and  can  assimilate 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


307 


as  much  of  that  gas  as  is  necessary  to  its  perfect  nutrition, 
ceases  absolutely  to  be  a ferment  at  all.  Nevertheless, 
yeast  formed  under  these  conditions  and  subsequently 
brought  into  the  presence  of  sugar,  out  of  the  influence  of 
air,  would  decompose  more  in  a given  time  than  in  any 
other  of  its  states.  The  reason  is  that  yeast  which  has 
formed  in  contact  with  air,  having  the  maximum  of  free 
oxygen  that  it  can  assimilate  is  fresher  and  possessed  of 
greater  vital  activity  than  that  which  has  been  formed  with- 
out air  or  with  an  insufficiency  of  air.  M.  Schiitzenberger 
would  associate  this  activity  with  the  notion  of  time  in 
estimating  the  power  of  the  ferment;  but  he  forgets  to 
notice  that  yeast  can  only  manifest  this  maximum  of  energy 
under  a radical  change  of  its  life  conditions;  by  having  no 
more  air  at  its  disposal  and  breathing  no  more  free  oxygen. 
In  other  words,  when  its  respiratory  power  becomes  null,  its 
fermentative  power  is  at  its  greatest.  M.  Schiitzenberger  as- 
serts exactly  the  opposite  (p.  151  of  his  work — Paris,  1875)/ 
and  so  gratuitously  places  himself  in  opposition  to  facts. 

In  presence  of  abundant  air  supply,  yeast  vegetates  with 
extraordinary  activity.  We  see  this  in  the  weight  of  new 
yeast,  comparatively  large,  that  may  be 
formed  in  the  course  of  a few  hours. 

The  microscope  still  more  clearly  shows 
this  activity  in  the  rapidity  of  budding, 
and  the  fresh  and  active  appearance 
of  all  the  cells.  Fig.  6 represents  the 
yeast  of  our  last  experiment  at  the 
moment  when  we  stopped  the  fermen- 
tation. Nothing  has  been  taken  from 
imagination,  all  the  groups  have  been  faithfully  sketched  as 
they  were.8 

In  passing  it  is  of  interest  to  note  how  promptly  the 
preceding  results  were  turned  to  good  account  practically. 
In  well-managed  distilleries,  the  custom  of  aerating  the 
wort  and  the  juices  to  render  them  more  adapted  to  fer- 
mentation, has  been  introduced.  The  molasses  mixed  with 
water,  is  permitted  to  run  in  thin  threads  through  the 

7 Page  182,  English  edition. 

8 This  figure  is  on  a scale  of  300  diameters,  most  of  the  figures  in  this 
work  being  of  400  diameters. 


308 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


air  at  the  moment  when  the  yeast  is  added.  Manufac- 
tories have  been  erected  in  which  the  manufacture  of 
yeast  is  almost  exclusively  carried  on.  The  saccharine 
worts,  after  the  addition  of  yeast,  are  left  to  themselves, 
in  contact  with  air,  in  shallow  vats  of  large  superficial 
area,  realizing  thus  on  an  immense  scale  the  conditions  of 
the  experiments  which  we  undertook  in  1861,  and  which 
we  have  already  described  in  determining  the  rapid  and 
easy  multiplication  of  yeast  in  contact  with  air. 

The  next  experiment  was  to  determine  the  volume  of 
oxygen  absorbed  by  a known  quantity  of  yeast,  the  yeast 
living  in  contact  with  air,  and  under  such  conditions  that 
the  absorption  of  air  was  comparatively  easy  and  abundant. 

With  this  object  we  repeated  the  experiment  that  we 
performed  with  the  large-bottomed  flask  (Fig.  4),  employ- 
in  a vessel  shaped  like  Fig.  B (Fig.  7),  which  is,  in  point 
of  fact,  the  flask  A with  its  neck  drawn  out  and  closed 


in  a flame,  after  the  introduction  of  a thin  layer  of  some 
saccharine  juice  impregnated  with  a trace  of  pure  yeast. 
The  following  are  the  data  and  results  of  an  experiment 
of  this  kind. 

We  employed  60  cc.  (about  2 fluid  ounces)  of  yeast- 
water,  sweetened  with  two  percent,  of  sugar  and  im- 
pregnated with  a trace  of  yeast.  After  having  subjected 
our  vessel  to  a temperature  of  250  C.  (770  F.)  in  an 
oven  for  fifteen  hours,  the  drawn-out  point  was  brought 
under  an  inverted  jar  filled  with  mercury  and  the  point 
broken  off.  A portion  of  the  gas  escaped  and  was  collected 
in  the  jar.  For  25  cc.  of  this  gas  we  found,  after  absorp- 
tion by  potash  20.6,  and  after  absorption  by  pyrogallic  acid, 
17.3.  Taking  into  account  the  volume  which  remained  free 
in  the  flask,  which  held  315  cc.,  there  was  a total  absorption 


B 


A 


Fig.  7 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


309 


of  14.5  cc.  (0.88  cub.  in.)  of  oxygen.’  The  weight  of  the 
yeast,  in  a state  of  dryness,  was  0.035  gramme. 

It  follows  that  in  the  production  of  35  milligrammes 
(0.524  grain)  of  yeast  there  was  an  absorption  of  14  or 
15  cc.  (about  | cub.  in.)  of  oxygen,  even  supposing  that 
the  yeast  was  formed  entirely  under  the  influence  of 
that  gas:  this  is  equivalent  to  not  less  than  414  cc.  for 
1 gramme  of  yeast  (or  about  33  cubic  inches  for  every  20 
grains).1® 

Such  is  the  large  volume  of  oxygen  necessary  for  the 
development  of  one  gramme  of  yeast  when  the  plant  can 
assimilate  this  gas  after  the  manner  of  an  ordinary  fungus. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  first  experiment  described  in 
the  paragraph  on  page  292  in  which  a flask  of  three  litres 
capacity  was  filled  with  fermentable  liquid,  which,  when 
caused  to  ferment,  yielded  2.25  grammes  of  yeast,  under 
circumstances  where  it  could  not  obtain  a greater  supply 
of  free  oxygen  than  16.5  cc.  (about  one  cubic  inch).  Ac- 
cording to  what  we  have  just  stated,  if  this  2.25  grammes 
(34  grains)  of  yeast  had  not  been  able  to  live  without  oxy- 
gen, in  other  words,  if  the  original  cells  had  been  unable  to 
multiply  otherwise  than  by  absorbing  free  oxygen,  the 
amount  of  that  gas  required  could  not  have  been  less  than 
2.25X414  cc.,  that  is,  931.5  cc.  (56.85  cubic  inches).  The 
greater  part  of  the  2.25  grammes,  therefore,  had  evidently 
been  produced  as  the  growth  of  an  anaerobian  plant. 


9 It  may  be  useful  for  the  non-scientific  reader  to  put  it  thus:  that  the 
25  cc.  which  escaped,  being  a fair  sample  of  the  whole  gas  in  the  flask, 
and  containing  (i)  25 — 20.6=4.4  cc.,  absorbed  by  potash  and  therefore  due 
to  carbonic  acid,  and  (2)  20.6 — 17.3=3. 3 cc.,  absorbed  by  pyrogallate,  and 
therefore  due  to  oxygen,  and  the  remaining  17.3  cc.  being  nitrogen,  the 
whole  gas  in  the  flask,  which  has  a capacity  of  312  cc.,  will  contain  oxygen 
in  the  above  proportion,  and  therefore  its  amount  may  be  determined,  pro- 
vided we  know  the  total  gas  in  the  flask  before  opening.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  know  that  air  normally  contains,  approximately,  1-5  its  volume  of 
oxygen,  the_  rest  being  nitrogen,  so  that,  by  ascertaining  the  diminution  of 
the  proportion  in  the  flask,  we  can  find  how  many  cubic  centimetres  have 
been  absorbed  by  the  yeast.  The  author,  however,  has  not  given  all  the 
data  necessary  for  accurate  calculation. — D.  C.  R. 

10  This  number  is  probably  too  small;  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  in- 
crease of  weight  in  the  yeast,  even  under  the  exceptional  conditions  of  the 
experiment  described,  was  not  to  some  extent  at  least  due  to  oxidation  apart 
from  free  oxygen,  inasmuch  as  some  of  the  cells  were  covered  by  others. 
The  increased  weight  of  the  yeast  is  always  due  to  the  action  of  two  dis- 
tinct modes  of  vital  energy — activity,  namely,  in  presence  and  activity  in 
absence  of  air.  We  might  endeavour  to  shorten  the  duration  of  the  experi- 
ment still  further,  in  which  case  we  would  still  more  assimilate  the  life  of 
the  yeast  to  that  of  ordinary  moulds. 


310 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


Ordinary  fungi  likewise  require  large  quantities  of  oxy- 
gen for  their  development,  as  we  may  readily  prove  by 
cultivating  any  mould  in  a closed  vessel  full  of  air,  and 
then  taking  the  weight  of  plant  formed  and  measuring  the 
volume  of  oxygen  absorbed.  To  do  this,  we  take  a flask  of 
the  shape  shown  in  Fig.  8,  capable  of  holding 
about  300  cc.  (10^2  fluid  ounces),  and  containing 
a liquid  adapted  to  the  life  of  moulds.  We  boil 
this  liquid,  and  seal  the  drawn-out  point  after  the 
steam  has  expelled  the  air  wholly  or  in  part;  we 
then  open  the  flask  in  a garden  or  in  a room. 
Should  a fungus-spore  enter  the  flask,  as  will  in- 
variably be  the  case  in  a certain  number  of  flasks 
out  of  several  used  in  the  experiment,  except 
under  special  circumstances,  it  will  develop  there 
and  gradually  absorb  all  the  oxygen  contained  in 
the  air  of  the  flask.  Measuring  the  volume  of 
this  air,  and  weighing,  after  drying,  the  amount  of  plant 
formed,  we  find  that  for  a certain  quantity  of  oxygen 
absorbed  we  have  a certain  weight  of  mycelium,  or  of 
mycelium  together  with  its  organs  of  fructification.  In  an 
experiment  of  this  kind,  in  which  the  plant  was  weighed  a 
year  after  its  development,  we  found  for  0.008  gramme 
(0.123  grain)  of  mycelium,  dried  at  ioo0  C.  (2120  F.),  an 
absorption  that  amounted  to  not  less  than  43  cc.  (2.5  cubic 
inches)  of  oxygen  at  250.  These  numbers,  however,  must 
vary  sensibly  with  the  nature  of  the  mould  employed,  and 
also  with  the  greater  or  less  activity  of  its  development, 
because  the  phenomena  is  complicated  by  the  presence  of  ac- 
cessory oxidations,  such  as  we  find  in  the  case  of  mycoderma 
vini  and  aceti,  to  which  cause  the  large  absorption  of  oxy- 
gen in  our  last  experiment  may  doubtless  be  attributed.11 


Fig.  8 


11  In  these  experiments,  in  which  the  moulds  remain  for  a long  time  in 
contact  with  a saccharine  wort  out  of  contact  with  oxygen — the  oxygen 
being  promptly  absorbed  by  the  vital  action  of  the  plant  (see  our  Memoir e 
sur  les  Generations  dites  Spontanees,  p.  54,  note) — there  is  no  doubt  that 
an  appreciable  quantity  of  alcohol  is  formed  because  the  plant  does  not 
immediately  lose  its  vital  activity  after  the  absorption  of  oxygen. 

A 300-cc.  (io-oz.)  flask,  containing  100  cc.  of  must,  after  the  air  in  it 
had  been  expelled  by  boiling,  was  opened  and  immediately  re-closed  on 
August  15th,  1873.  A fungoid  growth — a unique  one,  of  _ greenish-grey 
colour — developed  from  spontaneous  impregnation,  and  decolorized  the  liquid, 
which  originally  was  of  a yellowish-brown.  Some  large  crystals,  sparkling 
like  diamonds,  of  neutral  tartrate  of  lime,  were  precipitated.  About  a year 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


311 


The  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  the  whole  of  the  pre- 
ceding facts  can  scarcely  admit  of  doubt.  As  for  our- 
selves, we  have  no  hesitation  in  finding  them  the  foundation 
of  the  true  theory  of  fermentation.  In  the  experiments 
which  we  have  described,  fermentation  by  yeast,  that  is 
to  say,  by  the  type  of  ferments  properly  so  called,  is  pre- 
sented to  us,  in  a word,  as  the  direct  consequence  of  the 
processes  of  nutrition,  assimilation  and  life,  when  these 
are  carried  on  without  the  agency  of  free  oxygen.  The 
heat  required  in  the  accomplishment  of  that  work  must 
necessarily  have  been  borrowed  from  the  decomposition 
of  the  fermentable  matter,  that  is  from  the  saccharine  sub- 
stance which,  like  other  unstable  substances,  liberates  heat 
in  undergoing  decomposition.  Fermentation  by  means  of 
yeast  appears,  therefore,  to  be  essentially  connected  with 
the  property  possessed  by  this  minute  cellular  plant  of 
performing  its  respiratory  functions,  somehow  or  other,  with 
oxygen  existing  combined  in  sugar.  Its  fermentative 
power— which  power  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  fer- 
mentative activity  or  the  intensity  of  decomposition  in  a 
given  time — varies  considerably  between  two  limits,  fixed 
by  the  greatest  and  least  possible  access  to  free  oxygen 
which  the  plant  has  in  the  process  of  nutrition.  If  we 
supply  it  with  a sufficient  quantity  of  free  oxygen  for  the 
necessities  of  its  life,  nutrition,  and  respiratory  combus- 
tions, in  other  words,  if  we  cause  it  to  live  after  the  manner 
of  a mould,  properly  so  called,  it  ceases  to  be  a ferment, 
that  is,  the  ratio  between  the  weight  of  the  plant  developed 
and  that  of  the  sugar  decomposed,  which  forms  its  princi- 
pal food,  is  similar  in  amount  to  that  in  the  case  of  fungi.12 
On  the  other  hand,  if  we  deprive  the  yeast  of  air  entirely, 
or  cause  it  to  develop  in  a saccharine  medium  deprived  of 
free  oxygen,  it  will  multiply  just  as  if  air  were  present, 

afterwards,  long  after  the  death  of  the  plant,  we  examined  this  liquid.  It 
contained  0.3  gramme  (4.6  grains)  of  alcohol,  and  0.053  gramme  (0.8  grain) 
of  vegetable  matter,  dried  at  100°  C.  (2120  F.).  We  ascertained  that  the 
spores  of  the  fungus  were  dead  at  the  moment  when  the  flask  was  opened. 
When  sown,  they  did  did  not  develop  in  the  least  degree. 

f We  find  in  M.  Raulin’s  note  that  ‘‘the  minimum  ratio  between  the 
weight  of  sugar  and  the_  weight  of  organized  matter,  that  is,  the  weight  of 
fungoid  growth  which  it  helps  to  form,  may  be  expressed  as  ^“5=3. 1.” 
Jules  Raulin,  Etudes  chimiques  sur  la  vegetation.  Recherches  sur  le 
developpement  d’une  mucedinee  dans  un  milieu  artificial,  p.  192,  Paris, 
1870.  We  have  seen  in  the  case  of  yeast  that  this  ratio  may  be  as  low  as  f. 


312 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


although  with  less  activity,  and  under  these  circumstances 
its  fermentative  character  will  be  most  marked ; under  these 
circumstances,  moreover,  we  shall  find  the  greatest  dispro- 
portion, all  other  conditions  being  the  same,  between  the 
weight  of  yeast  formed  and  the  weight  of  sugar  decomposed. 
Lastly,  if  free  oxygen  occurs  in  varying  quantities,  the 
ferment-power  of  the  yeast  may  pass  through  all  the  degrees 
comprehended  between  the  two  extreme  limits  of  which 
we  have  just  spoken.  It  seems  to  us  that  we  could  not 
have  a better  proof  of  the  direct  relation  that  fermentation 
bears  to  life,  carried  on  in  the  absence  of  free  oxygen, 
or  with  a quantity  of  that  gas  insufficient  for  all  the  acts 
of  nutrition  and  assimilation. 

Another  equally  striking  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  theory 
is  the  fact  previously  demonstrated  that  the  ordinary  moulds 
assume  the  character  of  a ferment  when  compelled  to  live 
without  air,  or  with  quantities  of  air  too  scant  to  permit  of 
their  organs  having  around  them  as  much  of  that  element 
as  is  necessary  for  their  life  as  aerobian  plants.  Ferments, 
therefore,  only  possess  in  a higher  degree  a character  which 
belongs  to  many  common  moulds,  if  not  to  all,  and  which 
they  share,  probably,  more  or  less,  with  all  living  cells, 
namely  the  power  of  living  either  an  aerobian  or  anaerobian 
life,  according  to  the  conditions  under  which  they  are 
placed. 

It  may  be  readily  understood  how,  in  their  state  of 
aerobian  life,  the  alcoholic  ferments  have  failed  to  attract 
attention.  These  ferments  are  only  cultivated  out  of  con- 
tract with  air,  at  the  bottom  of  liquids  which  soon  become 
saturated  with  carbonic  acid  gas.  Air  is  only  present  in 
the  earlier  developments  of  their  germs,  and  without  at- 
tracting the  attention  of  the  operator,  whilst  in  their  state 
of  anaerobian  growth  their  life  and  action  are  of  pro- 
longed duration.  We  must  have  recourse  to  special  ex- 
perimental apparatus  to  enable  us  to  demonstrate  the  mode 
of  life  of  alcoholic  ferments  under  the  influence  of  free 
oxygen ; it  is  their  state  of  existence  apart  from  air,  in  the 
depths  of  liquids,  that  attracts  all  our  attention.  The  results 
of  their  action  are,  however,  marvellous,  if  we  regard 
the  products  resulting  from  them,  in  the  important  in- 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


313 


dustries  of  which  they  are  the  life  and  soul.  In  the  case  of 
ordinary  moulds,  the  opposite  holds  good.  What  we  want 
to  use  special  experimental  apparatus  for  with  them,  is  to 
enable  us  to  demonstrate  the  possibility  of  their  continuing 
to  live  for  a time  out  of  contact  with  air,  and  all  our  at- 
tention, in  their  case,  is  attracted  by  the  facility  with  which 
they  develop  under  the  influence  of  oxygen.  Thus  the  de- 
composition of  saccharine  liquids,  which  is  the  consequence 
of  the  life  of  fungi  without  air,  is  scarcely  perceptible,  and 
so  is  of  no  practical  importance.  Their  aerial  life,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  which  they  respire  and  accomplish  their 
process  of  oxidation  under  the  influence  of  free  oxygen 
is  a normal  phenomenon,  and  one  of  prolonged  duration 
which  cannot  fail  to  strike  the  least  thoughtful  of  observers. 
We  are  convinced  that  a day  will  come  when  moulds  will 
be  utilised  in  certain  industrial  operations,  on  account  of 
their  power  in  destroying  organic  matter.  The  conversion 
of  alcohol  into  vinegar  in  the  process  of  acetification  and 
the  production  of  gallic  acid  by  the  action  of  fungi  on  wet 
gall  nuts,  are  already  connected  with  this  kind  of  phe- 
nomena.13 On  this  last  subject,  the  important  work  of  M. 
Van  Tieghem  ( Annales  Scientifiques  de  l’Ecole  Normale, 
vol.  vi.)  may  be  consulted. 

The  possibility  of  living  without  oxygen,  in  the  case  of 
ordinary  moulds,  is  connected  with  certain  morphological 
modifications  which  are  more  marked  in  proportion  as  this 
faculty  is  itself  more  developed.  These  changes  in  the 
vegetative  forms  are  scarcely  perceptible,  in  the  case  of 
penicillium  and  mycoderma  vini,  but  they  are  very  evident 
in  the  case  of  aspergillus,  consisting  of  a marked  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  submerged  mycelial  filaments  to  increase 
in  diameter,  and  to  develop  cross  partitions  at  short  inter- 
vals, so  that  they  sometimes  bear  a resemblance  to  chains 

13  We  shall  show,  some  day,  that  the  processes  of  oxidation  due  to 
growth  of  fungi  cause,  in  certain  decompositions,  liberation  of  ammonia 
to  a considerable  extent,  and  that  by  regulating  their  action  we  might  cause 
them  to  extract  the  nitrogen  from  a host  of  organic  debris,  as  also,  by 
checking  the  production  of  such  organisms,  we  might  considerably  increase 
the  proportion  of  nitrates  in  the  artificial  nitrogenous  substances.  By  cul- 
tivating the  various  moulds  on  the  surface  of  damp  bread  in  a current  of 
air  we  have  obtained  an  abundance  of  ammonia,  derived  from  the  decom- 
position of  the  albuminoids  effected  by  the  fungoid  life.  The  decomposition 
of  asparagus  and  several  other  animal  or  vegetable  substances  has  given 
similar  results. 


314 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


of  conidia.  In  mucor,  again,  they  are  very  marked,  the 
inflated  filaments  which,  closely  interwoven,  present  chains 
of  cells,  which  fall  off  and  bud,  gradually  producing  a mass 
of  cells.  If  we  consider  the  matter  carefully,  we  shall  see 
that  yeast  presents  the  same  characteristics.  * * * * 

It  is  a great  presumption  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  theoretical 
ideas  when  the  results  of  experiments  undertaken  on  the 
strength  of  those  ideas  are  confirmed  by  various  facts  more 
recently  added  to  science,  and  when  those  ideas  force  them- 
selves more  and  more  on  our  minds,  in  spite  of  a prima  facie 
improbability.  This  is  exactly  the  character  of  those  ideas 
which  we  have  just  expounded.  We  pronounced  them  in 
1861,  and  not  only  have  they  remained  unshaken  since,  but 
they  have  served  to  foreshadow  new  facts,  so  that  it  is 
much  easier  to  defend  them  in  the  present  day  than  it  was 
to  do  so  fifteen  years  ago.  We  first  called  attention  to  them 
in  various  notes,  which  we  read  before  the  Chemical  So- 
ciety of  Paris,  notably  at  its  meetings  of  April  12th  and 
June  28th,  1861,  and  in  papers  in  the  Comtes  rendus  de 
I’Academie  des  Sciences.  It  may  be  of  some  interest  to 
quote  here,  in  its  entirety,  our  communication  of  June 
28th,  1861,  entitled,  “ Influences  of  Oxygen  on  the  Develop- 
ment of  Yeast  and  on  Alcoholic  Fermentation,”  which  we 
extract  from  the  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Chimique  de  Paris : — 

“ M.  Pasteur  gives  the  result  of  his  researches  on  the 
fermentation  of  sugar  and  the  development  of  yeast-cells, 
according  as  that  fermentation  takes  place  apart  from  the 
influence  of  free  oxygen  or  in  contact  with  that  gas.  His 
experiments,  however,  have  nothing  in  common  with  those 
of  Gay-Lussac,  which  were  performed  with  the  juice  of 
grapes  crushed  under  conditions  where  they  would  not 
be  affected  by  air,  and  then  brought  into  contact  with 
oxygen. 

“ Yeast,  when  perfectly  developed,  is  able  to  bud  and 
grow  in  a saccharine  and  albuminous  liquid,  in  the  com- 
plete absence  of  oxygen  or  air.  In  this  case  but  little  yeast 
is  formed,  and  a comparatively  large  quantity  of  sugar  dis- 
appears— sixty  or  eighty  parts  for  one  of  yeast  formed. 
Under  these  conditions  fermentation  is  very  sluggish. 

“ If  the  experiment  is  made  in  contact  with  the  air,  and 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


315 


with  a great  surface  of  liquid,  fermentation  is  rapid.  For 
the  same  quantity  of  sugar  decomposed  much  more  yeast  is 
formed.  The  air  with  which  the  liquid  is  in  contact  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  yeast.  The  yeast  develops  very  actively,  but 
its  fermentative  character  tends  to  disappear  under  these  con- 
ditions; we  find,  in  fact,  that  for  one  part  of  yeast  formed, 
not  more  than  from  four  to  ten  parts  of  sugar  are  trans- 
formed. The  fermentative  character  of  this  yeast  never- 
theless, continues,  and  produces  even  increased  effects,  if 
it  is  made  to  act  on  sugar  apart  from  the  influence  of  free 
oxygen. 

“ It  seems,  therefore,  natural  to  admit  that  when  yeast 
functions  as  a ferment  by  living  apart  from  the  influence 
of  air,  it  derives  oxygen  from  the  sugar,  and  that  this  is 
the  origin  of  its  fermentative  character. 

“ M.  Pasteur  explains  the  fact  of  the  immense  activity  at 
the  commencement  of  fermentations  by  the  influence  of  the 
oxygen  of  the  air  held  in  solution  in  the  liquids,  at  the  time 
when  the  action  commences.  The  author  has  found,  more- 
over, that  the  yeast  of  beer  sown  in  an  albuminous  liquid, 
such  as  yeast-water,  still  multiplies,  even  when  there  is 
not  a trace  of  sugar  in  the  liquid,  provided  always  that 
atmospheric  oxygen  is  present  in  large  quantities.  When 
deprived  of  air,  under  these  conditions,  yeast  does  not 
germinate  at  all.  The  same  experiments  may  be  repeated 
with  albuminous  liquid,  mixed  with  a solution  of  non-fer- 
mentable  sugar,  such  as  ordinary  crystallized  milk-sugar. 
The  results  are  precisely  the  same. 

“Yeast  formed  thus  in  the  absence  of  sugar  does  not 
change  its  nature;  it  is  still  capable  of  causing  sugar  to 
ferment,  if  brought  to  bear  upon  that  substance  apart  from 
air.  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that  the  development 
of  yeast  is  effected  with  great  difficulty  when  it  has  not  a 
fermentable  substance  for  its  food.  In  short,  the  yeast  of 
beer  acts  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  an  ordinary  plant, 
and  the  analogy  would  be  complete  if  ordinary  plants  had 
such  an  affinity  for  oxygen  as  permitted  them  to  breathe 
by  appropriating  this  element  from  unstable  compounds,  in 
which  case,  according  to  M.  Pasteur,  they  would  appear  as 
ferments  for  those  substances. 


316 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


“ M.  Pasteur  declares  that  he  hopes  to  be  able  to  realize 
this  result,  that  is  to  say,  to  discover  the  conditions  under 
which  certain  inferior  plants  may  live  apart  from  air  in 
the  presence  of  sugar,  causing  that  substance  to  ferment 
as  the  yeast  of  beer  would  do.” 

This  summary  and  the  preconceived  views  that  it  set 
forth  have  lost  nothing  of  their  exactness ; on  the  con- 
trary, time  has  strengthened  them.  The  surmises  of  the 
iast  two  paragraphs  have  received  valuable  confirmation 
from  recent  observations  made  by  Messrs.  Lechartier  and 
Bellamy,  as  well  as  by  ourselves,  an  account  of  which  we 
must  put  before  our  readers.  It  is  necessary,  however, 
before  touching  upon  this  curious  feature  in  connection 
with  fermentations  to  insist  on  the  accuracy  of  a passage 
in  the  preceding  summary ; the  statement,  namely,  that 
yeast  could  multiply  in  an  albuminous  liquid,  in  which  it 
found  a non-fermentable  sugar,  milk-sugar,  for  example. 
The  following  is  an  experiment  on  this  point: — On  August 
15th,  1875,  we  sowed  a trace  of  yeast  in  150  cc.  (rather  more 
than  5 fluid  ounces)  of  yeast- water,  containing  2)4  per  cent, 
of  milk-sugar.  The  solution  was  prepared  in  one  of  our 
double-necked  flasks,  with  the  necessary  precautions  to 
secure  the  absence  of  germs,  and  the  yeast  sown  was  it- 
self perfectly  pure.  Three  months  afterwards,  November 
15th,  1875,  we  examined  the  liquid  for  alcohol;  it  contained 
only  the  smallest  trace;  as  for  the  yeast  (which  had  sen- 
sibly developed),  collected  and  dried  on  a filter  paper,  it 
weighed  0.050  gramme  (0.76  grain).  In  this  case  we  have 
the  yeast  multiplying  without  giving  rise  to  the  least  fer- 
mentation, like  a fungoid  growth,  absorbing  oxygen,  and 
evolving  carbonic  acid,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  ces- 
sation of  its  development  in  this  experiment  was  due  to 
the  progressive  deprivation  of  oxygen  that  occurred.  As 
soon  as  the  gaseous  mixture  in  the  flask  consisted  entirely 
of  carbonic  acid  and  nitrogen,  the  vitality  of  the  yeast  was 
dependent  on,  and  in  proportion  to,  the  quantity  of  air  which 
entered  the  flask  in  consequence  of  variations  of  tempera- 
ture. The  question  now  arose,  was  this  yeast,  which  had 
developed  wholly  as  an  ordinary  fungus,  still  capable  of 
manifesting  the  character  of  a ferment?  To  settle  this 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


317 


point  we  had  taken  the  precaution  on  August  15th,  1875, 
of  preparing  another  flask,  exactly  similar  to  the  preceding 
one  in  every  respect,  and  which  gave  results  identical  with 
those  described.  We  decanted  this  November  15th,  pouring 
some  wort  on  the  deposit  of  the  plant,  which  remained  in 
the  flask.  In  less  than  five  hours  from  the  time  we  placed 
it  in  the  oven,  the  plant  started  fermentation  in  the  wort, 
as  we  could  see  by  the  bubbles  of  gas  rising  to  form  patches 
on  the  surface  of  the  liquid.  We  may  add  that  yeast  in 
the  medium  which  we  have  been  discussing  will  not  de- 
velop at  all  without  air. 

The  importance  of  these  results  can  escape  no  one ; they 
prove  clearly  that  the  fermentative  character  is  not  an 
invariable  phenomenon  of  yeast-life,  they  show  that  yeast 
is  a plant  which  does  not  differ  from  ordinary  plants,  and 
which  manifests  its  fermentative  power  solely  in  conse- 
quence of  particular  conditions  under  which  it  is  compelled 
to  live.  It  may  carry  on  its  life  as  a ferment  or  not,  and 
after  having  lived  without  manifesting  the  slightest  symp- 
tom of  fermentative  character,  it  is  quite  ready  to  manifest 
that  character  when  brought  under  suitable  conditions.  The 
fermentative  property,  therefore,  is  not  a power  peculiar 
to  cells  of  a special  nature.  It  is  not  a permanent  character 
of  a particular  structure,  like,  for  instance,  the  property  of 
acidity  or  alkalinity.  It  is  a peculiarity  dependent  on  ex- 
ternal circumstances  and  on  the  nutritive  conditions  of 
the  organism. 


§ II.  Fermentation  in  Saccharine  Fruits  Immersed  in 
Carbonic  Acid  Gas 

The  theory  which  we  have,  step  by  step,  evolved,,  on 
the  subject  of  the  cause  of  the  chemical  phenomena  of 
fermentation,  may  claim  a character  of  simplicity  and 
generality  that  is  well  worthy  of  attention.  Fermentation 
is  no  longer  one  of  those  isolated  and  mysterious  phe- 
nomena which  do  not  admit  of  explanation.  It  is  the  con- 
sequence of  a peculiar  vital  process  of  nutrition  which 
occurs  under  certain  conditions,  differing  from  those  which 


318 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


characterize  the  life  of  all  ordinary  beings,  animal  or 
vegetable,  but  by  which  the  latter  may  be  affected,  more  or 
less,  in  a way  which  brings  them,  to  some  extent  within 
the  class  of  ferments,  properly  so  called.  We  can  even 
conceive  that  the  fermentative  character  may  belong  to 
every  organized  form,  to  every  animal  or  vegetable  cell, 
on  the  sole  condition  that  the  chemico-vital  acts  of  assimila- 
tion and  excretion  must  be  capable  of  taking  place  in  that 
cell  for  a brief  period,  longer  or  shorter  it  may  be,  with- 
out necessity  for  recourse  to  supplies  of  atmospheric  oxygen; 
in  other  words,  the  cell  must  be  able  to  derive  its  needful 
heat  from  the  decomposition  of  some  body  which  yields  a 
surplus  of  heat  in  the  process. 

As  a consequence  of  these  conclusions  it  should  be  an 
easy  matter  to  show,  in  the  majority  of  living  beings,  the 
manifestation  of  the  phenomena  of  fermentation;  for  there 
are,  probably,  none  in  which  all  chemical  action  entirely 
disappears,  upon  the  sudden  cessation  of  life.  One  day, 
when  we  were  expressing  these  views  in  our  laboratory, 
in  the  presence  of  M.  Dumas,  who  seemed  inclined  to  admit 
their  truth,  we  added:  “We  should  like  to  make  a wager 
that  if  we  were  to  plunge  a bunch  of  grapes  into  carbonic 
acid  gas,  there  would  be  immediately  produced  alcohol  and 
carbonic  acid  gas,  in  consequence  of  a renewed  action 
starting  in  the  interior  cells  of  the  grapes,  in  such  a 
way  that  these  cells  would  assume  the  functions  of  yeast 
cells.  We  will  make  the  experiment,  and  when  you  come 
to-morrow — it  was  our  good  fortune  to  have  M.  Dumas 
working  in  our  laboratory  at  that  time — we  will  give  you 
an  account  of  the  result.”  Our  predictions  were  realized. 
We  then  endeavoured  to  find,  in  the  presence  of  M.  Dumas, 
who  assisted  us  in  our  endeavour,  cells  of  yeast  in  the 
grapes ; but  it  was  quite  impossible  to  discover  any.1 

1 To  determine  the  absence  of  cells  of  ferment  in  fruits  that  have  been 
immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas,  we  must  first  of  all  carefully  raise  the 
pellicle  of  the  fruit,  taking  care  that  the  subjacent  parenchyma  does  not 
touch  the  surface  of  the  pellicle,  since  the  organized  corpuscles  existing  on 
the  exterior  of  the  fruit  might  introduce  an  error  into  our  miscroscopical 
observations.  Experiments  on  grapes  have  given  us  an  explanation  of  a 
fact  generally  known,  the  cause  of  which,  however,  had  hitherto  escaped  our 
knowledge.  We  all  know  that  the  taste  and  aroma  of  the  vintage,  that  is, 
of  the  grapes  stripped  from  the  bunches  and  thrown  into  tubs,  where  they 
get  soaked  in  the  juice  that  issues  from  the  wounded  specimens,  are  very 
different  from  the  taste  and  aroma  of  an  uninjured  bunch.  Now  grapes 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


319 


Encouraged  by  this  result,  we  undertoook  fresh  experi- 
ments on  grapes,  on  a melon,  on  oranges,  on  plums,  and 
on  rhubarb  leaves,  gathered  in  the  garden  of  the  lUcole 
Normale,  and,  in  every  case,  our  substance,  when  immersed 
in  carbonic  acid  gas,  gave  rise  to  the  production  of  alcohol 
and  carbonic  acid.  We  obtained  the  following  surprising 
results  from  some  prunes  de  Monsieur:2 — On  July  21,  1872, 
we  placed  twenty-four  of  these  plums  under  a glass  bell, 
which  we  immediately  filled  with  carbonic  acid  gas.  The 
plums  had  been  gathered  on  the  previous  day.  By  the  side 
of  the  bell  we  placed  other  twenty-four  plums,  which  were 
left  there  uncovered.  Eight  days  afterwards,  in  the  course 
of  which  time  there  had  been  a considerable  evolution  of 
carbonic  acid  from  the  bell,  we  withdrew  the  plums  and 
compared  them  with  those  which  had  been  left  exposed 
to  the  air.  The  difference  was  striking,  almost  incredible. 
Whilst  the  plums  which  had  been  surrounded  with  air  (the 
experiments  of  Berard  have  long  since  taught  us  that,  under 
this  latter  condition,  fruits  absorb  oxygen  from  the  air 
and  emit  carbonic  acid  gas  in  almost  equal  volume)  had 
become  very  soft  and  watery  and  sweet,  the  plums  taken 
from  under  the  jar  had  remained  very  firm  and  hard, 
the  flesh  was  by  no  means  watery,  but  they  had  lost  much 
sugar.  Lastly,  when  submitted  to  distillation,  after  crush- 
ing, they  yielded  6.5  grammes  (99.7  grains)  of  alcohol, 

that  have  been  immersed  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid  gas  have  exactly 
the  flavour  and  smell  of  the  vintage;  the  reason  is  that,  in  the  vintage  tub, 
the  grapes  are  immediately  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid 
gas,  and  undergo,  in  consequence,  the  fermentation  peculiar  to  grapes  that 
have  been  plunged  in  this  gas.  These  facts  deserve  to  be  studied  from  a 
practical  point  of  view.  It  would  be  interesting,  for  example,  to  learn 
what  difference  there  would  be  in  the  quality  of  two  wines,  the  grapes  of 
which,  in  the  one  case,  had  been  perfectly  crushed,  so  as  to  cause  as  great 
a separation  of  the  cells  of  the  parenchyma  as  possible;  in  the  other  case, 
left,  for  the  most  part,  whole,  as  in  the  case  in  the  ordinary  vintage.  The 
first  wine  would  be  deprived  of  those  fixed  and  fragrant  principles  produced 
by  the  fermentation^  of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  when  the  grapes  are 
immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas.  By  such  a comparison  as  that  which  we 
suggest  we  should  be  able  to  form  a priori  judgment  on  the  merits  of  the 
new  system,  which  has_  not  been  carefully  studied,  although  already  widely 
adopted,  of  milled,  cylindrical  crushers,  for  pressing  the  vintage. 

2 We  have  sometimes  found  small  quantities  of  alcohol  in  fruits  and 
other  vegetable  organs,  surrounded  with  ordinary  air,  but  always  in  small 
proportion,  and  in  a manner  which  suggested  its  accidental  character.  It 
is  easy  to  understand  how,  in  the  thickness  of  certain  fruits,  certain  parts 
of  those  fruits  might  be  deprived  of  air,  under  which  circumstances  they 
would  have  been  acting  under  conditions  similar  to  those  under  which 
fruits  act  when  wholly  immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas.  Moreover,  it  would 
be  useful  to  determine  whether  alcohol  is  not  a normal  product  of  vegetation. 


320 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


more  than  i per  cent,  of  the  total  weight  of  the  plums. 
What  better  proof  than  these  facts  could  we  have  of  the 
existence  of  a considerable  chemical  action  in  the  interior 
of  fruit,  an  action  which  derives  the  heat  necessary  for 
its  manifestation  from  the  decomposition  of  the  sugar 
present  in  the  cells?  Moreover,  and  this  circumstance  is 
especially  worthy  of  our  attention,  in  all  these  experi- 
ments we  found  that  there  was  a liberation  of  heat,  of 
which  the  fruits  and  other  organs  were  the  seat,  as  soon 
as  they  were  plunged  in  the  carbonic  acid  gas.  This  heat 
is  so  considerable  that  it  may  at  times  be  detected  by  the 
hand,  if  the  two  sides  of  the  bell,  one  of  which  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  objects,  are  touched  alternately.  It  also 
makes  itself  evident  in  the  formation  of  little  drops  on 
those  parts  of  the  bell  which  are  less  directly  exposed 
to  the  influence  of  the  heat  resulting  from  the  decomposi- 
tion of  the  sugar  of  the  cells.3 

In  short,  fermentation  is  a very  general  phenomenon. 
It  is  life  without  air,  or  life  without  free  oxygen,  or,  more 
generally  still,  it  is  the  result  of  a chemical  process  ac- 
complished on  a fermentable  substance  capable  of  pro- 
ducing heat  by  its  decomposition,  in  which  process  the 
entire  heat  used  up  is  derived  from  a part  of  the  heat 
that  the  decomposition  of  the  fermentable  substance  sets 
free.  The  class  of  fermentations  properly  so  called,  is, 
however,  restricted  by  the  small  number  of  substances 
capable  of  decomposing  with  the  production  of  heat,  and 
at  the  same  time  of  serving  for  the  nourishment  of  lower 
forms  of  life,  when  deprived  of  the  presence  and  action 
of  air.  This,  again,  is  a consequence  of  our  theory,  which 
is  well  worthy  of  notice. 

3 In  these  studies  of  plants  living  immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas,  we  have 
come  across  a fact  which  corroborates  those  which  we  have  already  given 
in  reference  to  the  facility  with  which  lactic  and  viscous  ferments,  and, 
generally  speaking,  those  which  we  have  termed  the  disease  ferments  of 
beer,  develop  when  deprived  of  air,  and  which  shows,  consequently,  how 
very  marked  their  aerobian  character  is.  If  we  immerse  beet-roots  or  tur- 
nips in  carbonic  acid  gas,  we  produce  well-defined  fermentations  in  those 
roots.  Their  whole  surface  readily  permits  the  escape  of  the  highly  acid 
liquids,  and  they  become  filled  with  lactic,  viscous,  and  other  ferments. 
This  shows  us  the  great  danger  which  may  result  from  the  use  of  pits,  in 
which  the  beet-roots  are  preserved,  when  the  air  is  not  renewed,  and  that 
the  original  oxygen  is  expelled  by  the  vital  processes  of  fungi  or  other 
deoxidizing  chemical  actions.  We  have  directed  the  attention  of  the  manu- 
facturers of  beet-root  sugar  to  this  point. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


321 


The  facts  that  we  have  just  mentioned  in  reference  to 
the  formation  of  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  in  the  sub- 
stance of  ripe  fruits,  under  special  conditions,  and  apart 
from  the  action  of  ferment,  are  already  known  to  science. 
They  were  discovered  in  1869  by  M.  Lechartier,  formerly 
a pupil  in  the  Ecole  Normale  Superieure,  and  his  coadjutor, 
M.  Bellamy.4  In  1821,  in  a very  remarkable  work,  especially 
when  we  consider  the  period  when  it  appeared,  Berard 
demonstrated  several  important  propositions  in  connection 
with  the  maturation  of  fruits: 

I.  All  fruits,  even  those  that  are  still  green,  and  likewise 
even  those  that  are  exposed  to  the  sun,  absorb  oxygen  and 
set  free  an  almost  equal  volume  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 
This  is  a condition  of  their  proper  ripening. 

II.  Ripe  fruits  placed  in  a limited  atmosphere,  aftet 
having  absorbed  all  the  oxygen  and  set  free  an  almost 
equal  volume  of  carbonic  acid,  continue  to  emit  that  gas 
in  notable  quantity,  even  when  no  bruise  is  to  be  seen — “ as 
though  by  a kind  of  fermentation,”  as  Berard  actually 
observes — and  lose  their  saccharine  particles,  a circum- 
stance which  causes  the  fruits  to  appear  more  acid,  al- 
though the  actual  weight  of  their  acid  may  undergo  no 
augmentation  whatever. 

In  this  beautiful  work,  and  in  all  subsequent  ones  of 
which  the  ripening  of  fruits  has  been  the  subject,  two 
facts  of  great  theoretical  value  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  the  authors;  these  are  the  two  facts  which  Messrs. 
Lechartier  and  Bellamy  pointed  out  for  the  first  time, 
namely,  the  production  of  alcohol  and  the  absence  of  cells 
of  ferments.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  these  two  facts, 
as  we  have  shown  above,  were  actually  fore-shadowed  in 
the  theory  of  fermentation  that  we  advocated  as  far  back 
as  1861,  and  we  are  happy  to  add  that  Messrs.  Lechartier 
and  Bellamy,  who  at  first  had  prudently  drawn  no  theoreti- 
cal conclusions  from  their  work,  now  entirely  agree  with 
the  theory  we  have  advanced.5  Their  mode  of  reasoning 

4 Lechartier  and  Bellamy,  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcademie  des  Sciences, 
vol.  lxix.,  pp.,  366  and  466,  1869. 

5 Those  gentlemen  express  themselves  thus:  “In  a note  presented  to  the 
Academy  in  November,  1872,  we  published  certain  experiments  which  showed 
that  carbonic  acid  and  alcohol  may  be  produced  in  fruits  kept  in  a closed 

(il)  HC  XXXVIII 


322 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


is  very  different  from  that  of  the  savants  with  whom  we 
discussed  the  subject  before  the  Academy,  on  the  occasion 
when  the  communication  which  we  addressed  to  the  Academy 
in  October,  1872,  attracted  attention  once  more  to  the 
remarkable  observations  of  Messrs.  Lechartier  and  Bel- 
lamy® M.  Fremy,  in  particular,  was  desirous  of  finding 
in  these  observations  a confirmation  of  his  views  on  the 
subject  of  hemi-organism,  and  a condemnation  of  ours, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  preceding  explanations, 
and,  more  particularly  our  Note  of  1861,  quoted  word 
for  word  in  the  preceding  section,  furnish  the  most  con- 
clusive evidence  in  favor  of  those  ideas  which  we  advocate. 
Indeed,  as  far  back  as  1861  we  pointed  out  very  clearly 
that  if  we  could  find  plants  able  to  live  when  deprived 
of  air,  in  the  presence  of  sugar,  they  would  bring  about 
a fermentation  of  that  substance,  in  the  same  manner  that 
yeast  does.  Such  is  the  case  with  the  fungi  already  studied ; 
such,  too,  is  the  case  with  the  fruits  employed  in  the  ex- 
periments of  Messrs.  Lechartier  and  Bellamy,  and  in  our 
own  experiments,  the  results  of  which  not  only  confirm 
those  obtained  by  these  gentlemen,  but  even  extend  them, 
in  so  far  as  we  have  shown  that  fruits,  when  surrounded 
with  carbonic  acid  gas  immediately  produce  alcohol.  When 
surrounded  with  air,  they  live  in  their  aerobian  state  and 
we  have  no  fermentation;  immersed  immediately  after- 
wards in  carbonic  acid  gas,  they  now  assume  their  an- 
aerobian  state,  and  at  once  begin  to  act  upon  the  sugar 
in  the  manner  of  ferments,  and  emit  heat.  As  for  seeing  in 
these  facts  anything  like  a confirmation  of  the  theory  of 
hemi-organism,  imagined  by  M.  Fremy,  the  idea  of  such  a 

vessel,  out  of  contact  with  atmospheric  oxygen,  without  our  being  able  to 
discover  alcoholic  ferment  in  the  interior  of  those  fruits. 

“ M.  Pasteur,  as  a logical  deduction  from  the  principle  which  he  has 
established  in  connection  with  the  theory  of  fermentation,  considers  that 
the  formation  of  alcohol  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  physical  and 
chemical  processes  of  life  in  the  cells  of  fruit  continue  under  new _ condi- 
tions, in  a manner  similar  to  those  of  the  cells  of  ferment.  Experiments, 
continued  during  1872,  1873,  and  1874,  on  different  fruits  have  furnished 
results  all  of  which  seem  to  us  to  harmonize  with  this  proposition,  and  to 
establish  it  on  a firm  basis  of  proof.” — Comptes  rendus,t.  lxxix.,  p.  949,  1874. 

0 Pasteur,  Faites  nouveaux  pour  servir  d la  connaissance  de  la  theorie 
des  fermentations  proprement  dites.  ( Comptes  rendus  de  V Academic  des 
Sciences,  t.  lxxv.,  p.  784.)  See  in  the  same  volume  the  discussion  that 
followed;  also,  Pasteur,  Note  sur  la  production  de  I’alcool  par  les  fruits, 
same  volume,  p.  1054,  in  which  we  recount  the_  observations  anterior  to  our 
own,  made  by  Messrs.  Lechartier  and  Bellamy  in  1869. 


THEORY  OP  FERMENTATION' 


323 


thing  is  absurd.  The  following,  for  instance,  is  the  theory 
of  the  fermentation  of  the  vintage,  according  to  M.  Fremy.7 

“ To  speak  here  of  alcoholic  fermentation  alone,” 8 our 
author  says,  “ I hold  that  in  the  production  of  wine  it  is 
the  juice  of  the  fruit  itself  that,  in  contact  with  air,  pro- 
duces grains  of  ferment,  by  the  transformation  of  the  al- 
buminous matter;  Pasteur,  on  the  other  hand,  maintains 
that  the  fermentation  is  produced  by  germs  existing  out- 
side of  the  grapes.” 

Now  what  bearing  on  this  purely  imaginary  theory  can 
the  fact  have,  that  a whole  fruit,  immersed  in  carbonic 
acid  gas,  immediately  produces  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid? 
In  the  preceding  passage  which  we  have  borrowed  from 
M.  Fremy,  an  indispensable  condition  of  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  albuminous  matter  is  the  contact  with  air  and 
the  crushing  of  the  grapes.  Here,  however,  we  are  dealing 
with  uninjured  fruits  in  contact  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 
Our  theory,  on  the  other  hand,  which,  we  may  repeat, 
we  have  advocated  since  1861,  maintains  that  all  cells  be- 
come fermentative  when  their  vital  action  is  protracted 
in  the  absence  of  air,  which  are  precisely  the  conditions  that 
hold  in  the  experiments  on  fruits  immersed  in  carbonic 
acid  gas.  The  vital  energy  is  not  immediately  suspended 

7 Comptes  rendus,  meeting  of  January  15th,  1872. 

8 As  a matter  of  fact,  M.  Fremy  applies  his  theory  of  hemi-organism,  not 
enly  to  the  alcoholic  fermentation  of  grape  juice,  but  to  all  other  fermenta- 
tions. The  following  passage  occurs  in  one  of  his  notes  (.Comptes  rendus 
de  I’Academie,  t.  lxxv.,  p.  979,  October  28th,  1872): 

“ Experiments  on  Germinated  Barley. — The  object  of  these  was  to  show 
that  when  barley,  left  to  itself  in  sweetened  water,  produces  in  succession 
alcoholic,  lactic,  butyric,  and  acetic  fermentations,  these  modifications  are 
brought  about  by  ferments  which  are  produced  inside  the  grains  themselves, 
and  not  by  atmospheric  germs.  More  than  forty  different  experiments  were 
devoted  to  this  part  of  my  work.” 

Need  we  add  that  this  assertion  is  based  on  no  substantial  foundation? 
The  cells  belonging  to  the  grains  of  barley,  or  their  albuminous  contents, 
never  do  produce  cells  of  alcoholic  ferment,  or  of  lactic  ferment,  or  butyric 
vibrios.  Whenever  those  ferments  appear,  they  may  be  traced  to  germs 
of  those  organisms,  diffused  throughout  the  interior  of  the  grains,  or  adher- 
ing to  the  exterior  surface,  or  existing  in  the  water  employed,  or  on  the 
side  of  the  vessels  used.  There  are  many  ways  of  demonstrating  this,  of 
which  the  following  is  one:  Since  the  results  of  our  experiments  have 
shown  that  sweetened  water,  phosphates,  and  chalk  very  readily  give  rise 
to  lactic  and  butyric  fermentations,  what  reason  is  there  for  supposing  that 
if  we  substitute  grains  of  barley  for  chalk,  the  lactic  and  butyric  ferments 
will  spring  from  those  grains,  in  consequence  of  a transformation  of  their 
cells  and  albuminous  substances?  Surely  there  is  no  ground  for  maintain- 
ing that  they  are  produced  by  hemi-organism,  since  a medium  composed 
of  sugar,  or  chalk,  or  phosphates  of  ammonia,  potash,  or  magnesia  con- 
tains no  albuminous  substances.  This  is  an  indirect  but  irresistible  argu- 
ment against  the  hemi-organism  theory. 


324 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


in  their  cells,  and  the  latter  are  deprived  of  air.  Con- 
sequently, fermentation  must  result.  Moreover,  we  may 
add,  if  we  destroy  the  fruit,  or  crush  it  before  immersing 
it  in  the  gas,  it  no  longer  produces  alcohol  or  fermenta- 
tion of  any  kind,  a circumstance  that  may  be  attributed 
to  the  fact  of  the  destruction  of  vital  action  in  the  crushed 
fruit.  On  the  other  hand,  in  what  way  ought  this  crush- 
ing to  affect  the  hypothesis  of  hemi-organism  ? The  crushed 
fruit  ought  to  act  quite  as  well,  or  even  better  than  that 
which  is  uncrushed.  In  short,  nothing  can  be  more  di- 
rectly opposed  to  the  theory  of  the  mode  of  manifestation 
of  that  hidden  force  to  which  the  name  of  hemi-organism 
has  been  given,  than  the  discovery  of  the  production  of 
these  phenomena  of  fermentation  in  fruits  surrounded  with 
carbonic  acid  gas ; whilst  the  theory,  which  sees  in  fermenta- 
tion a consequence  of  vital  energy  in  absence  of  air,  finds 
in  these  facts  the  strictest  confirmation  of  an  express  pre- 
diction, which  from  the  first  formed  an  integral  part  of  its 
statement. 

We  should  not  be  justified  in  devoting  further  time  to 
opinions  which  are  not  supported  by  any  serious  experi- 
ment. Abroad,  as  well  as  in  France,  the  theory  of  the 
transformation  of  albuminous  substances  into  organized 
ferments  had  been  advocated  long  before  it  had  been  taken 
up  by  M.  Fremy.  It  no  longer  commands  the  slightest 
credit,  nor  do  any  observers  of  note  any  longer  give  it 
the  least  attention ; it  might  even  be  said  that  it  has  be- 
come a subject  of  ridicule. 

An  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  prove  that  we  have 
contradicted  ourselves,  inasmuch  as  in  i860  we  published 
our  opinion  that  alcoholic  fermentation  can  never  occur 
without  a simultaneous  occurrence  of  organization,  develop- 
ment, and  multiplication  of  globules;  or  continued  life, 
carried  on  from  globules  already  formed.9  Nothing,  how- 

9 Pasteur,  Memoire  sur  la  fermentation  alcoolique,  i860;  Annales  de 
Chimie  et  de  Physique.  The  word  globules  is  here  used  for  cells.  In  our 
researches  we  have  always  endeavoured  to  prevent  any  confusion  of  ideas. 
We  stated  at  the  beginning  of  our  Memoir  of  i860  that:  “ We  apply  the 
term  alcoholic  to  that  fermentation  which  sugar  undergoes  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  ferment  known  as  beer  yeast."  This  is,  the  fermentation  which 
produces  wine  and  all  alcoholic  beverages.  This,  too,  is  regarded  as  the 
type  for  a host  of  similar  phenomena  designated,  by  general  usage,  under 
the  generic  name  of  fermentation,  and  qualified  by  the  name  of  one  of  the 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


325 


ever,  can  be  truer  than  that  opinion,  and  at  the  present 
moment,  after  fifteen  years  of  study  devoted  to  the  subject 
since  the  publication  to  which  we  have  referred,  we  need 
no  longer  say,  “ we  think,”  but  instead,  “ we  affirm,”  that 
it  is  correct.  It  is,  as  a matter  of  fact,  to  alcoholic  fermen- 
tation, properly  so  called,  that  the  charge  to  which  we  have 
referred  relates— to  that  fermentation  which  yields,  besides 
alcohol,  carbonic  acid,  succinic  acid,  glycerine,  volatile 
acids,  and  other  products.  This  fermentation  undoubtedly 
requires  the  presence  of  yeast-cells  under  the  conditions 
that  we  have  named.  Those  who  have  contradicted  us  have 
fallen  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  the  fermentation  of 
fruits  is  an  ordinary  alcoholic  fermentation,  identical  with 
that  produced  by  beer  yeast,  and  that,  consequently,  the 
cells  of  that  yeast  must,  according  to  own  theory,  be 
always  present.  There  is  not  the  least  authority  for  such  a 
supposition.  When  we  come  to  exact  quantitative  estima- 
tions— and  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  figures  supplied  by 
Messrs.  Lechartier  and  Bellamy — it  will  be  seen  that  the 
proportions  of  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas  produced  in  the 
fermentation  of  fruits  differ  widely  from  those  that  we 
find  in  alcoholic  fermentations  properly  so  called,  as  must 
necessarily  be  the  case  since  in  the  former  the  ferment- 
action  is  effected  by  the  cells  of  a fruit,  but  in  the  latter  by 
cells  of  ordinary  alcoholic  ferment.  Indeed  we  have  a 
strong  conviction  that  each  fruit  would  be  found  to  give 
rise  to  special  action,  the  chemical  equation  of  which  would 
be  different  from  that  in  the  case  of  other  fruits.  As  for  the 


essential  products  of  the  special  phenomenon  under  observation.  Bearing 
in  mind  this  fact  in  reference  to  the  nomenclature  that  we  have  adopted, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  expression  alcoholic  fermentation  cannot  be  applied 
to  every  phenomenon  of  fermentation  in  which  alcohol  is  produced,  inas- 
much as  there  may  be  a number  of  phenomena  having  this  character  in 
common.  If  we  had  not  at  starting  defined  that  particular  one  amongst 
the  number  of  very  distinct  phenomena,  which,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
others,  should  bear  the  name  of  alcoholic  fermentation,  we  should  in- 
evitably have  given  rise  to  a confusion  of  language  that  would  soon  pass 
from  words  to  ideas,  and  tend  to  introduce  unnecessary  complexity  into 
researches  which  are  already,  in  themselves,  sufficiently  complex  to  necessi- 
tate the  adoption  of  scrupulous  care  to  prevent  their  becoming  still  more 
involved.  It  seems  to  us  that  any  further  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
words  alcoholic  fermentation,  and  the  sense  in  which  they  are  employed, 
is  impossible,  inasmuch  as  Lavoisier,  Gay-Lussac,  and  Thenard  have  applied 
this  term  to  the  fermentation  of  sugar  by  means  of  beer  yeast.  It  would 
be  both  dangerous  and  unprofitable  to  discard  the  example  set  by  these 
illustrious  masters,  to  whjm  we  are  indebted  for  ®ur  earliest  knowledge 
of  this  subject. 


326 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


circumstance  that  the  cells  of  these  fruits  cause  fermenta- 
tion without  multiplying,  this  comes  under  the  kind  of 
activity  which  we  have  already  distinguished  by  the  ex- 
pression continuous  life  in  cells  already  formed. 

We  will  conclude  this  section  with  a few  remarks  on  the 
subject  of  equations  of  fermentations,  which  have  been 
suggested  to  us  principally  in  attempts  to  explain  the  re- 
sults derived  from  the  fermentation  of  fruits  immersed  in 
carbonic  acid  gas. 

Originally,  when  fermentations  were  put  amongst  the 
class  of  decompositions  by  contact-action,  it  seemed  prob- 
able, and,  in  fact,  was  believed,  that  every  fermentation 
has  its  own  well-defined  equation  which  never  varied.  In 
the  present  day,  on  the  contrary,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  equation  of  a fermentation  varies  essentially  with 
the  conditions  under  which  that  fermentation  is  accom- 
plished, and  that  a statement  of  this  equation  is  a problem 
no  less  complicated  than  that  in  the  case  of  the  nutrition  of 
a living  being.  To  every  fermentation  may  be  assigned  an 
equation  in  a general  sort  of  way,  an  equation,  however, 
which,  in  numerous  points  of  detail,  is  liable  to  the  thousand 
variations  connected  with  the  phenomena  of  life.  More- 
over, there  will  be  as  many  distinct  fermentations  brought 
about  by  one  ferment  as  there  are  fermentable  substances 
capable  of  supplying  the  carbon  element  of  the  food  of 
that  same  ferment,'  in  the  same  way  that  the  equation  of 
the  nutrition  of  an  animal  will  vary  with  the  nature  of  the 
food  which  it  consumes.  As  regards  fermentation  pro- 
ducing alcohol,  which  may  be  effected  by  several  different 
ferments,  there  will  be  as  in  the  case  of  a given  sugar,  as 
many  general  equations  as  there  are  ferments,  whether  they 
be  ferment-cells  properly  so  called,  or  cells  of  the  organs 
of  living  beings  functioning  as  ferments.  In  the  same  way 
the  equation  of  nutrition  varies  in  the  case  of  different 
animals  nourished  on  the  same  food.  And  it  is  from  the 
same  reason  that  ordinary  wort  produces  such  a variety  of 
beers  when  treated  with  the  numerous  alcoholic  ferments 
which  we  have  described.  These  remarks  are  applicable 
to  all  ferments  alike ; for  instance,  butyric  ferment  is  capable 
of  producing  a host  of  distinct  fermentations,  in  conse- 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


327 


quence  of  its  ability  to  derive  the  carbonaceous  part  of  its 
food  from  very  different  substances,  from  sugar,  or  lactic 
acid,  or  glycerine,  or  mannite,  and  many  others. 

When  we  say  that  every  fermentation  has  its  own  pe- 
culiar ferment,  it  must  be  understood  that  we  are  speaking 
of  the  fermentation  considered  as  a whole,  including  all  the 
accessory  products.  We  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  the  fer- 
ment in  question  is  not  capable  of  acting  on  some  other  fer- 
mentable substance  and  giving  rise  to  fermentation  of  a 
very  different  kind.  Moreover,  it  is  quite  erroneous  to  sup- 
pose that  the  presence  of  a single  one  of  the  products  of 
a fermentation  implies  the  co-existence  of  a particular  fer- 
ment. If,  for  example,  we  find  alcohol  among  the  products 
of  a fermentation,  or  even  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas  to- 
gether, this  does  not  prove  that  the  ferment  must  be  an 
alcoholic  ferment,  belonging  to  alcoholic  fermentations,  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  Nor,  again,  does  the  mere 
presence  of  lactic  acid  necessarily  imply  the  presence  of 
lactic  ferment.  As  a matter  of  fact,  different  fermenta- 
tions may  give  rise  to  one  or  even  several  identical  products. 
We  could  not  say  with  certainty,  from  a purely  chemical 
point  of  view,  that  we  were  dealing,  for  example,  with  an 
alcoholic  fermentation  properly  so  called,  and  that  the  yeast 
of  beer  must  be  present  in  it,  if  we  had  not  first  determined 
the  presence  of  all  the  numerous  products  of  that  particular 
fermentation  under  conditions  similar  to  those  under  which 
the  fermentation  in  question  had  occurred.  In  works  on 
fermentation  the  reader  will  often  find  those  confusions 
against  which  we  are  now  attempting  to  guard  him.  It 
is  precisely  in  consequence  of  not  having  had  their  attention 
drawn  to  such  observations  that  some  have  imagined  that 
the  fermentation  in  fruits  immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas 
is  in  contradiction  to  the  assertion  which  we  originally  made 
in  our  Memoir  on  alcoholic  fermentation  published  in  i860, 
the  exact  words  of  which  we  may  here  repeat : — “ The 
chemical  phenomena  of  fermentation  are  related  essentially 
to  a vital  activity,  beginning  and  ending  with  the  latter;  we 
believe  that  alcoholic  fermentation  never  occurs  ” — we  were 
discussing  the  question  of  ordinary  alcoholic  fermentation 
produced  by  the  yeast  of  beer — “ without  the  simultaneous 


328 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


occurrence  of  organization,  development,  and  multiplication 
of  globules,  or  continued  life,  carried  on  by  means  of  the 
globules  already  formed.  The  general  results  of  the  present 
Memoir  seem  to  us  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  the  opinions 
of  MM.  Liebig  and  Berzelius.”  These  conclusions,  we  re- 
peat, are  as  true  now  as  they  ever  were,  and  are  as  appli- 
cable to  the  fermentation  of  fruits,  of  which  nothing  was 
known  in  i860,  as  they  are  to  the  fermentation  produced 
by  the  means  of  yeast.  Only,  in  the  case  of  fruits,  it  is 
the  cells  of  the  parenchyma  that  function  as  ferment,  by 
a continuation  of  their  activity  in  carbonic  acid  gas,  whilst 
in  the  other  case  the  ferment  consists  of  cells  of  yeast. 

There  should  be  nothing  very  surprising  in  the  fact  that 
fermentation  can  originate  in  fruits  and  form  alcohol  with- 
out the  presence  of  yeast,  if  the  fermentation  of  fruits  were 
not  confounded  completely  with  alcoholic  fermentation 
yielding  the  same  products  and  in  the  same  proportions. 
It  is  through  the  misuse  of  words  that  the  fermentation  of 
fruits  has  been  termed  alcoholic,  in  a way  which  has  misled 
many  persons.10  In  this  fermentation,  neither  alcohol  nor 
carbonic  acid  gas  exists  in  those  proportions  in  which  they 
are  found  in  fermentation  produced  by  yeast;  and,  although 
we  may  determine  in  it  the  presence  of  succinic  acid, 
glycerine,  and  a small  quantity  of  volatile  acids11  the 
relative  proportions  of  these  substances  will  be  different 
from  what  they  are  in  the  case  of  alcoholic  fermentation. 

§ III.  Reply  to  Certain  Critical  Observations  of  the 
German  Naturalists,  Oscar  Brefeld  and 
Moritz  Traube. 

The  essential  point  of  the  theory  of  fermentation  which 
we  have  been  concerned  in  proving  in  the  preceding  para- 

10  See,  for  example,  the  communications  of  MM.,  Colin  and  Poggiale,  and 
the  discussion  on  them,  in  the  Bulletin  de  V Academie  de  Medecine,  March 
2d,  9th,  and  30th,  and  February  16th  and  23rd,  1875. 

11  We  have  elsewhere  determined  the  formation  of  minute  quantities  of 
volatile  acids  in  alcoholic  fermentation.  M.  Bechamp,  who  studied  these, 
recognized  several  belonging  to  the  series  of  fatty  acids,  acetic  acid,  butyric 
acid,  &c.  “The  presence  of  succinic  acid  is  not  accidental,  but  constant; 
if  we  put  aside  volatile  acids  that  form  in  quantities  which  we  may  call 
infinitely  small,  we  may  say  that  succinic  acid  is  the  only  normal  acid  of 
alcoholic  fermentation.” — Pasteur,  Comptes  rendus  de  l' Academie,  t.  xlvii., 
p.  224,  1858. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


329 


graphs  may  be  briefly  put  in  the  statement  that  ferments 
properly  so  called  constitute  a class  of  beings  possessing 
the  faculty  of  living  out  of  contact  with  free  oxygen;  or, 
more  concisely  still,  we  may  say  that  fermentation  is  a 
result  of  life  without  air. 

If  our  affirmation  were  inexact,  if  ferment  cells  did  re- 
quire for  their  growth  or  for  their  increase  in  number  or 
weight,  as  all  other  vegetable  cells  do,  the  presence  of  oxy- 
gen, whether  gaseous  or  held  in  solution  in  liquids,  this  new 
theory  would  lose  all  value,  its  very  raison  d’etre  would  be 
gone,  at  least  as  far  as  the  most  important  part  of  fermenta- 
tions is  concerned.  This  is  precisely  what  M.  Oscar  Brefeld 
has  endeavoured  to  prove  in  a Memoir  read  to  the  Physico- 
Medical  Society  of  Wurzburg  on  July  26th,  1873,  in  which, 
although  we  have  ample  evidence  of  the  great  experimental 
skill  of  its  author,  he  has  nevertheless,  in  our  opinion,  ar- 
rived at  conclusions  entirely  opposed  to  fact. 

“From  the  experiments  which  I have  just  described,” 
he  says,  “ it  follows,  in  the  most  indisputable  manner,  that 
a ferment  cannot  increase  without  free  oxygen.  Pasteur’s 
supposition  that  a ferment,  unlike  all  other  living  organisms, 
can  live  and  increase  at  the  expense  of  oxygen  held  in 
combination,  is,  consequently,  altogether  wanting  in  any 
solid  basis  of  experimental  proof.  Moreover,  since,  accord- 
ing to  the  theory  of  Pasteur,  it  is  precisely  this  faculty  of 
living  and  increasing  at  the  expense  of  the  oxygen  held  in 
combination  that  constitutes  the  phenomenon  of  fermenta- 
tion, it  follows  that  the  whole  theory,  commanding  though 
it  does  such  general  assent,  is  shown  to  be  untenable;  it  is 
simply  inaccurate.” 

The  experiments  to  which  Dr.  Brefeld  alludes,  consisted 
in  keeping  under  continued  study  with  the  microscope,  in 
a room  specially  prepared  for  the  purpose,  one  or  more 
cells  of  ferment  in  wort  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  free  from  the  least  traces  of  free  oxygen.  We  have, 
however,  recognized  the  fact  that  the  increase  of  a 
ferment  out  of  contact  with  air  is  only  possible  in  the 
case  of  a very  young  specimen;  but  our  author  employed 
brewer’s  yeast  taken  after  fermentation,  and  to  this  fact 
we  may  attribute  the  non-success  of  his  growths.  Dr. 


330 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


Brefeld,  without  knowing  it,  operated  on  yeast  in  one  of  the 
states  in  which  it  requires  gaseous  oxygen  to  enable  it  to 
germinate  again.  A perusal  of  what  we  have  previously 
written  on  the  subject  of  the  revival  of  yeast  according  to 
its  age  will  show  how  widely  the  time  required  for  such 
revival  may  vary  in  different  cases.  What  may  be  per- 
fectly true  of  the  state  of  a yeast  to-day  may  not  be  so 
to-morrow,  since  yeast  is  continually  undergoing  modifica- 
tions. We  have  already  shown  the  energy  and  activity 
with  which  a ferment  can  vegetate  in  the  presence  of  free 
oxygen,  and  we  have  pointed  out  the  great  extent  to  which 
a very  small  quantity  of  oxygen  held  in  solution  in  fer- 
menting liquids  can  operate  at  the  beginning  of  fermenta- 
tion. It  is  this  oxygen  that  produces  revival  in  the  cells 
of  the  ferment  and  enables  them  to  resume  the  faculty  of 
germinating  and  continuing  their  life,  and  of  multiplying 
when  deprived  of  air. 

In  our  opinion,  a simple  reflection  should  have  guarded 
Dr.  Brefeld  against  the  interpretation  which  he  has  at- 
tached to  his  observations.  If  a cell  of  ferment  cannot  bud 
or  increase  without  absorbing  oxygen,  either  free  or  held 
in  solution  in  the  liquid,  the  ratio  between  the  weight  of 
the  ferment  formed  during  fermentation  and  that  of  oxy- 
gen used  up  must  be  constant.  We  had,  however,  clearly 
established,  as  far  back  as  1861,  the  fact  that  this  ratio  is 
extremely  variable,  a fact,  moreover,  which  is  placed  beyond 
doubt  by  the  experiments  described  in  the  preceding  section. 
Though  but  small  quantities  of  oxygen  are  absorbed,  a con- 
siderable weight  of  ferment  may  be  generated;  whilst  if  the 
ferment  has  abundance  of  oxygen  at  its  disposal,  it  will 
absorb  much,  and  the  weight  of  yeast  formed  will  be  still 
greater.  The  ratio  between  the  weight  of  ferment  formed 
and  that  of  sugar  decomposed  may  pass  through  all  stages 
within  certain  very  wide  limits,  the  variations  depending  on 
the  greater  or  less  absorption  of  free  oxygen.  And  in  this 
fact,  we  believe,  lies  one  of  the  most  essential  supports  of 
the  theory  which  we  advocate.  In  denouncing  the  im- 
possibility, as  he  considered  it,  of  a ferment  living  without 
air  or  oxygen,  and  so  acting  in  defiance  of  that  law  which 
governs  all  living  beings,  animal  or  vegetable,  Dr.  Brefeld 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


331 


ought  also  to  have  borne  in  mind  the  fact  which  we  have 
pointed  out,  that  alcoholic  yeast  is  not  the  only  organized 
ferment  which  lives  in  an  anaerobian  state.  It  is  really  a 
small  matter  that  one  more  ferment  should  be  placed  in 
a list  of  exceptions  to  the  generality  of  living  beings,  for 
whom  there  is  a rigid  law  in  their  vital  economy  which 
requires  for  continued  life  a continuous  respiration,  a con- 
tinuous supply  of  free  oxygen.  Why,  for  instance,  has  Dr. 
Brefeld  omitted  the  facts  bearing  on  the  life  of  the  vibrios 
of  butyric  fermentation  ? Doubtless  he  thought  we  were 
equally  mistaken  in  these:  a few  actual  experiments  would 
have  put  him  right. 

These  remarks  on  the  criticisms  of  Dr.  Brefeld  are 
also  applicable  to  certain  observations  of  M.  Moritz  Traube’s, 
although,  as  regards  the  principal  object  of  Dr.  Brefeld’s 
attack,  we  are  indebted  to  M.  Traube  for  our  defence. 
This  gentleman  maintained  the  exactness  of  our  results 
before  the  Chemical  Society  of  Berlin,  proving  by  fresh 
experiments  that  yeast  is  able  to  live  and  multiply  without 
the  intervention  of  oxygen.  “ My  researches,”  he  said, 
“ confirm  in  an  indisputable  manner  M.  Pasteur’s  assertion 
that  the  multiplication  of  yeast  can  take  place  in  media 
which  contain  no  trace  of  free  oxygen.  . . . M.  Bre- 
feld’s assertion  to  the  contrary  is  erroneous.”  But  im- 
mediately afterwards  M.  Traube  adds:  “Have  we  here  a 
confirmation  of  Pasteur’s  theory?  By  no  means.  The 
results  of  my  experiments  demonstrate  on  the  contrary 
that  this  theory  has  no  true  foundation.”  What  were  these 
results?  Whilst  proving  that  yeast  could  live  without  air, 
M.  Traube,  as  we  ourselves  did,  found  that  it  had  great 
difficulty  in  living  under  these  conditions;  indeed  he  never 
succeeded  in  obtaining  more  than  the  first  stages  of  true 
fermentation.  This  was  doubtless  for  the  two  following 
reasons:  first,  in  consequence  of  the  accidental  production 
of  secondary  and  diseased  fermentations  which  frequently 
prevent  the  propagation  of  alcoholic  ferment;  and,  sec- 
, ondly,  in  consequence  of  the  original  exhausted  condition 
i of  the  yeast  employed.  As  long  ago  as  1861,  we  pointed 
out  the  slowness  and  difficulty  of  the  vital  action  of  yeast 
when  deprived  of  air;  and  a little  way  back,  in  the  pre- 


332 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


ceding  section,  we  have  called  attention  to  certain  fermenta- 
tions that  cannot  be  completed  under  such  conditions  with- 
out going  into  the  causes  of  these  peculiarities.  M.  Traube 
expresses  himself  thus : “ Pasteur’s  conclusion,  that  yeast 
in  the  absence  of  air  is  able  to  derive  the  oxygen  neces- 
sary for  its  development  from  sugar,  is  erroneous;  its 
increase  is  arrested  even  when  the  greater  part  of  the  sugar 
still  remains  undecomposed.  It  is  in  a mixture  of  albumin- 
ous substances  that  yeast,  when  deprived  of  air,  finds  the 
materials  for  its  development.”  This  last  assertion  of 
M.  Traube’s  is  entirely  disproved  by  those  fermentation 
experiments  in  which,  after  suppressing  the  presence  of 
albuminous  substances,  the  action,  nevertheless,  went  on 
in  a purely  inorganic  medium,  out  of  contact  with  air,  a 
fact,  of  which  we  shall  give  irrefutable  proofs.1 


§ IV.  Fermentation  of  Dextro-Tartrate  of  Lime.1 

Tartrate  of  lime,  in  spite  of  its  insolubility  in  water, 
is  capable  of  complete  fermentation  in  a mineral  medium. 

If  we  put  some  pure  tartrate  of  lime,  in  the  form  of  a 
granulated,  crystalline  powder,  into  pure  water,  together 
with  some  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  phosphates  of  potas- 
sium and  magnesium,  in  very  small  proportions,  a spon- 

1 Traube’s  conceptions  are  governed  by  a theory  of  fermentation  entirely 
his  own,  a hypothetical  one,  as  he  admits,  of  which  the  following  is  a brief 
summary:  “We  have  no  reason  to  doubt,”  Traube  says,  “that  the  proto- 
plasm of  vegetable  cells  is  itself,  or  contains  within  it,  a chemical  ferment 
which  causes  the  alcoholic  fermentation  of  sugar;  its  efficacy  seems  closely 
connected  with  the  presence  of  the  cell,  inasmuch  as,  up  to  the  present 
time,  we  have  discovered  no  means  of  isolating  it  from  the  cells  with  suc- 
cess. In  the  presence  of  air  this  ferment  oxidizes  sugar  by  bringing  oxygen 
to  bear  upon  it;  in  the  absence  of  air  it  decomposes  the  sugar  by  taking 
away  oxygen  from  one  group  of  atoms  of  the  molecule  of  sugar  and  bring- 
ing it  to  act  upon  other  atoms;  on  the  one  hand  yielding  a product  of 
alcohol  by  reduction,  on  the  other  hand  a product  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
by  oxidation.” 

Traube  supposes  that  this  chemical  ferment  exists  in  yeast  and  in  all 
sweet  fruits,  but  only  when  the  cells  are  intact,  for  he  has  proved  foV 
himself  that  thoroughly  crushed  fruits  give  rise  to  no  fermentation  what- 
ever in  carbonic  acid  gas.  In  this  respect  this  imaginary  chemical  ferment 
would  differ  entirely  from  those  _ which  we  call  soluble  ferments,  since 
diastase,  emulsine,  &c.,  may  be  easily  isolated. 

For  a full  account  of  the  views  of  Brefeld  and  Traube,  and  the  discus- 
sion which  they  carried  on  on  the  subject  of  the  results  of  our  experiments, 
our  readers  may  consult  the  Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society  of  Berlin, 
vii.,  p.  872.  The  numbers  for  September  and  December,  1874,  in  the  same 
volume,  contain  the  replies  of  the  two  authors. 

1 See  Pasteur,  Comptes  rendus  de  I’Academie  des  Sciences,  t.  Ivi.,  p.  416. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


333 


taneous  fermentation  will  take  place  in  the  deposit  in  the 
course  of  a few  days,  although  no  germs  of  ferment  have 
been  added.  A living,  organized  ferment,  of  the  vibrionic 
type,  filiform,  with  tortuous  motions,  and  often  of  im- 
mense length,  forms  spontaneously  by  the  development  of 
some  germs  derived  in  some  way  from  the  inevitable  par- 
ticles of  dust  floating  in  the  air  or  resting  on  the  surface 
of  the  vessels  or  material  which  we  employ.  The  germs 
of  the  vibrios  concerned  in  putrefaction  are  diffused  around 
us  on  every  side,  and,  in  all  probability,  it  is  one  or  more 
of  these  germs  that  develop  in  the  medium  in  question. 
In  this  way  they  effect  the  decomposition  of  the  tartrate, 
from  which  they  must  necessarily  obtain  the  carbon  of  their 
food  without  which  they  cannot  exist,  while  the  nitrogen 
is  furnished  by  the  ammonia  of  the  ammoniacal  salt,  the 
mineral  principles  by  the  phosphate  of  potassium  and  mag- 
nesium, and  the  sulphur  by  the  sulphate  of  ammonia.  How 
strange  to  see  organization,  life,  and  motion  originating 
under  such  conditions ! Stranger  still  to  think  that  this 
organization,  life,  and  motion  are  effected  without  the  par- 
ticipation of  free  oxygen.  Once  the  germ  gets  a primary 
impulse  on  its  living  career  by  access  of  oxygen,  it  goes 
on  reproducing  indefinitely,  absolutely  without  atmospheric 
air.  Here  then  we  have  a fact  which  it  is  important  to 
establish  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  we  may 
prove  that  yeast  is  not  the  only  organized  ferment  able 
to  live  and  multiply  when  out  of  the  influence  of  free 
oxygen. 

Into  a flask,  like  that  represented  in  Fig.  9,  of  2.5  litres 
(about  four  pints)  in  capacity,  we  put: 

Pure,  crystallized,  neutral  tartrate  of  lime.. 

Phosphate  of  ammonia 

magnesium 

potassium. 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 

(1  gramme  = 15.43  grains) 

To  this  we  added  pure  distilled  water,  so  as  entirely 
to  fill  the  flask. 

In  order  to  expel  all  the  air  dissolved  in  the  water  and 
adhering  to  the  solid  substances,  we  first  placed  our  flask 


100  grammes 


1 

1 

°-5 

o-5 


334 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


in  a bath  of  chloride  of  calcium  in  a large  cylindrical  white 
iron  pot  set  over  a flame.  The  exit  tube  of  the  flask  was 
plunged  in  a test  tube  of  Bohemian  glass  three-quarters 
full  of  distilled  water,  and  also  heated  by  a flame.  We 
boiled  the  liquids  in  the  flask  and  test-tube  for  a suf- 
ficient time  to  expel  all  the  air  contained  in  them.  We 


then  withdrew  the  heat  from  under  the  test-tube,  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  covered  the  water  which  it  contained 
with  a layer  of  oil  and  then  permitted  the  whole  apparatus 
to  cool  down. 

Next  day  we  applied  a finger  to  the  open  extremity  of 
the  exit-tube,  which  we  then  plunged  in  a vessel  of  mercury. 
.In  this  particular  experiment  which  we  are  describing, 
we  permitted  the  flask  to  remain  in  this  state  for  a fort- 
night. It  might  have  remained  there  for  a century  without 
£ver  manifesting  the  least  sign  of  fermentation,  the  fer- 
mentation of  the  tartrate  being  a consequence  of  life, 
and  life  after  boiling  no  longer  existed  in  the  flask.  When 
it  was  evident  that  the  contents  of  the  flask  were  perfectly 
inert,  we  impregnated  them  rapidly,  as  follows:  all  the 
liquid  contained  in  the  exit-tube  was  removed  by  means 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


335 


of  a fine  caoutchouc  tube,  and  replaced  by  about  i c. 
(about  1 7 minims)  of  liquid  and  deposit  from  another 
flask,  similar  to  the  one  we  have  just  described,  but  which 
had  been  fermenting  spontaneously  for  twelve  days ; we 
lost  no  time  in  refilling  completely  the  exit  tube  with 
water  which  had  been  first  boiled  and  then  cooled  down 
in  carbonic  acid  gas.  This  operation  lasted  only  a few 
minutes.  The  exit-tube  was  again  plunged  under  mercury. 
Subsequently  the  tube  was  not  moved  from  under  the  mer- 
cury, and  as  it  formed  part  of  the  flask,  and  there  was 
neither  cork  nor  india-rubber,  any  introduction  of  air  was 
consequently  impossible.  The  small  quantity  of  air  in- 
troduced during  the  impregnation  was  insignificant  and  it 
might  even  be  shown  that  it  injured  rather  than  assisted  the 
growth  of  the  organisms,  inasmuch  as  these  consisted  of 
adult  individuals  which  had  lived  without  air  and  might 
be  liable  to  be  damaged  or  even  destroyed  by  it.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  in  a subsequent  experiment  we  shall  find  the 
possibility  removed  of  any  aeration  taking  place  in  this 
way,  however  infinitesimal,  so  that  no  doubts  may  linger 
on  this  subject. 

The  following  days  the  organisms  multiplied,  the  deposit 
of  tartrate  gradually  disappeared,  and  a sensible  ferment 
action  was  manifest  on  the  surface,  and  throughout  the 
bulk  of  the  liquid.  The  deposit  seemed  lifted  up  in  places, 
and  was  covered  with  a layer  of  dark-grey  colour,  puffed 
up,  and  having  an  organic  and  gelatinous  appearance.  For 
several  days,  in  spite  of  this  action  in  the  deposit,  we 
detected  no  disengagement  of  gas,  except  when  the  flask 
was  slightly  shaken,  in  which  case  rather  large  bubbles 
adhering  to  the  deposit  rose,  carrying  with  them  some  solid 
particles,  which  quickly  fell  back  again,  whilst  the  bubbles 
diminished  in  size  as  they  rose,  from  being  partially  taken 
into  solution,  in  consequence  of  the  liquid  not  being  satu- 
rated. The  smallest  bubbles  had  even  time  to  dissolve  com- 
pletely before  they  could  reach  the  surface  of  the  liquid. 
In  course  of  time  the  liquid  was  saturated,  and  the  tartrate 
was  gradually  displaced  by  mammillated  crusts,  or  clear, 
transparent  crystals  of  carbonate  of  lime  at  the  bottom 
and  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel. 


336 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


The  impregnation  took  place  on  February  ioth,  and  on 
March  15th  the  liquid  was  nearly  saturated.  The  bubbles 
then  began  to  lodge  in  the  bent  part  of  the  exit-tube,  at 
the  top  of  the  flask.  A glass  measuring-tube  containing 
mercury  was  now  placed  with  its  open  end  over  the  point 
of  the  exit-tube  under  the  mercury  in  the  trough,  so  that 
no  bubble  might  escape.  A steady  evolution  of  gas  went 
on  from  the  17th  to  the  18th,  17.4  cc.  (1.06  cubic  inches) 
having  been  collected.  This  was  proved  to  be  nearly  ab- 
solutely pure  carbonic  acid,  as  indeed  might  have  been 
suspected  from  the  fact  that  the  evolution  did  not  begin 
before  a distinct  saturation  of  the  liquid  was  observed.2 

The  liquid,  which  was  turbid  on  the  day  after  its  im- 
pregnation, had,  in  spite  of  the  liberation  of  gas,  again 
become  so  transparent  that  we  could  read  our  handwriting 
through  the  body  of  the  flask.  Notwithstanding  this,  there 
was  still  a very  active  operation  going  on  in  the  deposit, 
but  it  was  confined  to  that  spot.  Indeed,  the  swarming 
vibrios  were  bound  to  remain  there,  the  tartrate  of  lime 
being  still  more  insoluble  in  water  saturated  with  carbonate 
of  lime  than  it  is  in  pure  water.  A supply  of  carbonaceous 
food,  at  all  events,  was  absolutely  wanting  in  the  bulk  of  the 
liquid.  Every  day  we  continued  to  collect  and  analyze 
the  total  amount  of  gas  disengaged.  To  the  very  last 
it  was  composed  of  pure  carbonic  acid  gas.  Only  during 
the  first  few  days  did  the  absorption  by  the  concentrated 
potash  leave  a very  minute  residue.  By  April  26th  all 
liberation  of  gas  had  ceased,  the  last  bubbles  having  risen 
in  the  course  of  April  23rd.  The  flask  had  been  all  the 
time  in  the  oven,  at  a temperature  between  25°  C.  and 
28°  C.  (770  F.  and  83°  F.).  The  total  volume  of  gas 
collected  was  2.135  litres  (130.2  cubic  inches).  To  obtain 
the  whole  volume  of  gas  formed  we  had  to  add  to  this 
what  was  held  in  the  liquid  in  the  state  of  acid  carbonate 
of  lime.  To  determine  this  we  poured  a portion  of  the 
liquid  from  the  flask  into  another  flask  of  similar  shape, 
but  smaller,  up  to  the  gaugemark  on  the  neck.’  This 

J Carbonic  acid  being  considerably  more  soluble  than  other  gases  possible 
under  the  circumstances. — Ed. 

* We  had  to  avoid  filling  the  small  flask  completely,  for  fear  of  causing 
some  of  the  liquid  to  pass  on  to  the  surface  of  the  mercury  in  the  meas- 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


337 


smaller  flask  had  been  previously  filled  with  carbonic  acid. 
The  carbonic  acid  of  the  fermented  liquid  was  then  ex- 
pelled by  means  of  heat,  and  collected  over  mercury.  In 
this  way  we  found  a volume  of  8.322  litres  (508  cubic 
inches)  of  gas  in  solution,  which,  added  to  the  2.135  litres, 
gave  a total  of  10.457  litres  (638.2  cubic  inches)  at  20°  and 
760  mm.,  which,  calculated  to  0°,  C.  and  760  mm.  atmospheric 
pressure  (320  F.  and  30  inches)  gave  a weight  of  19.700 
grammes  (302.2  grains)  of  carbonic  acid. 

Exactly  half  of  the  lime  in  the  tartrate  employed  got 
used  up  in  the  soluble  salts  formed  during  fermentation; 
the  other  half  was  partly  precipitated  in  the  form  of  car- 
bonate of  lime,  partly  dissolved  in  the  liquid  by  the  carbonic 
acid.  The  soluble  salts  seemed  to  us  to  be  a mixture  or 
combination  of  1 equivalent  of  metacetate  of  lime,  with  2 
equivalents  of  the  acetate,  for  every  10  equivalents  of  car- 
bonic acid  produced,  the  whole  corresponding  to  the  fermen- 
tation of  3 equivalents  of  neutral  tartrate  of  lime.4  This 
point,  however,  is  worthy  of  being  studied  with  greater  care ; 
the  present  statement  of  the  nature  of  the  products  formed 
is  given  with  all  reserve.  For  our  point,  indeed,  the  matter 
is  of  little  importance,  since  the  equation  of  the  fermenta- 
tion does  not  concern  us. 

After  the  completion  of  fermentation  there  was  not  a 
trace  of  tartrate  of  lime  remaining  at  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel:  it  had  disappeared  gradually  as  it  got  broken  up  into 
the  different  products  of  fermentation,  and  its  place  was 
taken  by  some  crystallized  carbonate  of  lime — the  excess, 
namely,  which  had  been  unable  to  dissolve  by  the  action  of 

uring  tube.  The  liquid  condensed  by  boiling  forms  pure  water,  the  solvent 
affinity  of  which  for  carbonic  acid,  at  the  temperature  we  employ,  is  well 
known. 

4 The  following  is  a curious  consequence  of  these  numbers  and  of  the 
nature  of  the  products  of  this  fermentation.  The  carbonic  acid  liberated 
being  quite  pure,  especially  when  the  liquid  has  been  boiled  to  expel  all  air 
from  the  flask,  and  capable  of  perfect  solution,  it  follows  that  the  volume 
of  liquid  being  sufficient  and  the  weight  of  tartrate  suitably  chosen— we 
may  set  aside  tartrate  of  lime  in  an  insoluble,  crystalline  powder,  along 
with  phosphates  at  the  bottom  of  a closed  vessel  full_  of  water,  and  find 
soon  aftenvards  in  their  place  carbonate  of  lime,  and  in  the  liquid  soluble 
salts  of  lime,  with  a mass  of  organic  matter  at  the  bottom,  without  any 
liberation  of  gas  or  appearance  of  fermentation  ever  taking  place,  except 
as  far  as  the  vital  action  and  transformation  in  the  tartrate  are  concerned 
It  is  easy  to  calculate  that  a vessel  or  flask  of  five  litres  (rather  more 
than  a gallon)  would  be  large  enough  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
remarkable  and  singularly  quiet  transformation,  in  the  case  of  50  gTammes 
(767  grains)  of  tartrate  of  lime. 


338 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  carbonic  add.  Associated,  moreover,  with  this  carbonate 
of  lime  there  was  a quantity  of  some  kind  of  animal  matter, 
which,  under  the  microscope,  appeared  to  be  composed  of 
masses  of  granules  mixed  with  very  fine  filaments  of  vary- 
ing lengths,  studded  with  minute  dots,  and  presenting  all 
the  characteristics  of  a nitrogenous  organic  substance.5  That 
this  was  really  the  ferment  is  evident  enough  from  all  that 
we  have  already  said.  To  convince  ourselves  more  thor- 
oughly of  the  fact,  and  at  the  same  time  to  enable  us  to 
observe  the  mode  of  activity  of  the  organism,  we  instituted 
the  following  supplementary  observation.  Side  by  side  with 
the  experiment  just  described,  we  conducted  a similar  one, 
which  we  intermitted  after  the  fermentation  was  somewhat 
advanced,  and  about  half  of  the  tartrate 
dissolved.  Breaking  off  with  a file  the 
exit-tube  at  the  point  where  the  neck 
began  to  narrow  off,  we  took  some  of 
the  deposit  from  the  bottom  by  means  of 
a long  straight  piece  of  tubing,  in  order 
to  bring  it  under  microscopical  examina- 
tion. We  found  it  to  consist  of  a host  of 
long  filaments  of  extreme  tenuity,  their 
diameter  being  about  y^^th  of  a millimetre  (0.000039  in.)  ; 
their  length  varied,  in  some  cases  being  as  much  as  ^th  of 
a millimetre  (0.0019  in.).  A crowd  of  these  long  vibrios 
were  to  be  seen  creeping  slowly  along,  with  a sinuous  move- 
ment, showing  three,  four,  or  even  five  flexures.  The  fila- 
ments that  were  at  rest  had  the  same  aspect  as  these  last, 
with  the  exception  that  they  appeared  punctuate,  as  though 
composed  of  a series  of  granules  arranged  in  irregular  order. 
No  doubt  these  were  vibrios  in  which  vital  action  had 
ceased,  exhausted  specimens  which  we  may  compare  with 
the  old  granular  ferment  of  beer,  whilst  those  in  motion 
may  be  compared  with  young  and  vigorous  yeast.  The 
absence  of  movement  in  the  former  seems  to  prove  that  this 
view  is  correct.  Both  kinds  showed  a tendency  to  form 

BWe  treated  the  whole  deposit  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  which  dis- 
solved the  carbonate  of  lime,  and  the  insoluble  phosphates  of  calcium  and 
magnesium;  afterwards  filtering  the_  liquid  through  a weighed  filter  paper. 
Dried  at  ioo°  C.  (212°  F.),  the  weight  of  the  organic  matter  thus  obtained 
was  0.54  gramme  (8.3  grains),  which  was  rather  more  than  iJoth  of  the 
weight  of  fermentable  matter. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


339 


clusters,  the  compactness  of  which  impeded  the  movements 
of  those  which  were  in  motion.  Moreover,  it  was  noticeable 
that  the  masses  of  these  latter  rested  on  tartrate  not  yet 
dissolved,  whilst  the  granular  clusters  of  the  others  rested 
directly  on  the  glass,  at  the  bottom  of  the  flask,  as  if,  having 
decomposed  the  tartrate,  the  only  carbonaceous  food  at  their 
disposal,  they  had  then  died  on  the  spot  where  we  captured 
them,  from  inability  to  escape,  precisely  in  consequence  of 
that  state  of  entanglement  which  they  combined  to  form,  dur- 
ing the  period  of  their  active  development.  Besides  these 
we  observed  vibrios  of  the  same  diameter,  but  of  much 
smaller  length,  whirling  round  with  great  rapidity,  and 
darting  backwards  and  forwards ; these  were  probably  iden- 
tical with  the  longer  ones,  and  possessed  greater  freedom  of 
movement,  no  doubt  in  consequence  of  their  shortness.  Not 
one  of  these  vibrios  could  be  found  throughout  the  mass  of 
the  liquid. 

We  may  remark  that  as  there  was  a somewhat  putrid 
odour  from  the  deposit  in  which  the  vibrios  swarmed,  the 
action  must  have  been  one  of  reduction,  and  no  doubt  to 
this  fact  was  due  the  greyish  coloration  of  the  deposit.  We 
suppose  that  the  substances  employed,  however  pure,  always 
contain  some  trace  of  iron,  which  becomes  converted  into 
the  sulphide,  the  black  colour  of  which  would  modify  the 
originally  white  deposit  of  insoluble  tartrate  and  phosphate. 

But  what  is  the  nature  of  these  vibrios?  We  have  already 
said  that  we  believe  that  they  are  nothing  but  the  ordinary 
vibrios  of  putrefaction,  reduced  to  a state  of  extreme  tenuity 
by  the  special  conditions  of  nutrition  involved  in  the  fer- 
mentable medium  used ; in  a word,  we  think  that  the  fermen- 
tation in  question  might  be  called  putrefaction  of  tartrate 
of  lime.  It  would  be  easy  enough  to  determine  this  point 
by  growing  the  vibrios  of  such  fermentation  in  media 
adapted  to  the  production  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  vibrio; 
but  this  is  an  experiment  which  we  have  not  ourselves  tried. 

One  word  more  on  the  subject  of  these  curious  beings.  In 
a great  many  of  them  there  appears  to  be  something  like  a 
clear  spot,  a kind  of  bead,  at  one  of  their  extremities.  This 
is  an  illusion  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  extremity  of 
these  vibrios  is  curved,  hanging  downwards,  thus  causing 


340 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


a greater  refraction  at  that  particular  point,  and  leading  us 
to  think  that  the  diameter  is  greater  at  that  extremity.  We 
may  easily  undeceive  ourselves  if  we  watch  the  movements 
of  the  vibrio,  when  we  will  readily  recognize  the  bend, 
especially  as  it  is  brought  into  the  vertical  plane  passing 
over  the  rest  of  the  filament.  In  this  way  we  will  see  the 
bright  spot,  the  head,  disappear,  and  then  reappear. 

The  chief  inference  that  it  concerns  us  to  draw  from  the 
preceding  facts  is  one  which  cannot  admit  of  doubt,  and 
which  we  need  not  insist  on  any  further — namely  that  vibrios, 
as  met  with  in  the  fermentation  of  neutral  tartrate  of  lime, 
are  able  to  live  and  multiply  when  entirely  deprived  of  air. 


§ V. — Another  Example  of  Life  Without  Air — Fer- 
mentation of  Lactate  of  Lime 

As  another  example  of  life  without  air,  accompanied  by 
fermentation  properly  so  called,  we  may  lastly  cite  the  fer- 
mentation of  lactate  of  lime  in  a mineral  medium. 

In  the  experiment  described  in  the  last  paragraph,  it  will 
be  remembered  that  the  ferment  liquid  and  the  germs 
employed  in  its  impregnation  came  in  contact  with  air, 
although  only  for  a very  brief  time.  Now,  notwithstanding 
that  we  possess  exact  observations  which  prove  that  the 
diffusion  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen  in  a liquid  absolutely 
deprived  of  air,  so  far  from  taking  place  rapidly,  is,  on  the 
contrary,  a very  slow  process  indeed;  yet  we  were  anxious 
to  guard  the  experiment  that  we  are  about  to  describe  from 
the  slightest  possible  trace  of  oxygen  at  the  moment  of 
impregnation. 

We  employed  a liquid  prepared  as  follows:  Into  from  9 
to  10  litres  (somewhat  over  2 gallons)  of  pure  water  the 
following  salts1  were  introduced  successively,  viz: 

Pure  lactate  of  lime 22 5 grammes 

Phosphate  of  ammonia 0.75  “ 

1 Should  the  solution  of  lactate  of  lime  be  turbid,  it  may  be  clarified  by 
filtration,  after  previously  adding  a small  quantity  of  phosphate,  of  ammonia, 
which  throws  down  phosphate  of  lime.  It  is  only  after  this  process  of 
clarification  and  filtration  that  the  phosphates  of  the  formula  are  added. 
The  solution  soon  becomes  turbid  if  left  in  contact  with  air,  in  consequence 
of  the  spontaneous  formation  of  bacteria. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


341 


Phosphate  of  potassium 0.4  grammes 

Sulphate  of  magnesium 0.4 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 0.2 


(1  gramme  = 15.43  grains.) 

On  March  23rd,  1875,  we  filled  a 6 litre  (about  II  pints) 
flask,  of  the  shape  represented  in  Fig.  ii,  and  placed  it 
over  a heater.  Another  flame  was  placed  below  a vessel  con- 
taining the  same  liquid,  into  which  the  curved  tube  of  the 
flask  plunged.  The  liquids  in  the  flask  and  in  the  basin 


were  raised  to  boiling  together,  and  kept  in  this  condition 
for  more  than  half-an-hour,  so  as  to  expel  all  the  air  held 
in  solution.  The  liquid  was  several  times  forced  out  of  the 
flask  by  the  steam,  and  sucked  back  again ; but  the  portion 
which  re-entered  the  flask  was  always  boiling.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  when  the  flask  had  cooled,  we  transferred  the 
end  of  the  delivery  tube  to  a vessel  full  of  mercury  and 
placed  the  whole  apparatus  in  an  oven  at  a temperature  vary- 
ing between  25°  C.  and  30°  C.  (770  F.  and  86°  F.)  ; then, 
after  having  refilled  the  small  cylindrical  tap-funnel  with 


342 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


carbonic  acid,  we  passed  into  it  with  all  necessary  precau- 
tions io  cc.  (0.35  fl.  oz)  of  a liquid  similar  to  that  described, 
which  had  been  already  in  active  fermentation  for  several 
days  out  of  contact  with  air  and  now  swarmed  with  vibrios. 
We  then  turned  the  tap  of  the  funnel,  until  only  a small 
quantity  of  liquid  was  left,  just  enough  to  prevent  the  access 
of  air.  In  this  way  the  impregnation  was  accomplished  with- 
out either  the  ferment-liquid  or  the  ferment-germs  having 
been  brought  in  contact,  even  for  the  shortest  space,  with 
the  external  air.  The  fermentation,  the  occurrence  of  which 
at  an  earlier  or  later  period  depends  for  the  most  part  on 
the  condition  of  the  impregnating  germs,  and  the  number 
introduced  in  the  act,  in  this  case  began  to  manifest  itself 
by  the  appearance  of  minute  bubbles  from  March  29th.  But 
not  until  April  9th  did  we  observe  bubbles  of  larger  size 
rise  to  the  surface.  From  that  date  onward  they  continued 
to  come  in  increasing  number,  from  certain  points  at  the 
bottom  of  the  flask,  where  a deposit  of  earthy  phosphates 
existed;  and  at  the  same  time  the  liquid,  which  for  the  first 
few  days  remained  perfectly  clear,  began  to  grow  turbid  in 
consequence  of  the  development  of  vibrios.  It  was  on  the 
same  day  that  we  first  observed  a deposit  on  the  sides  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  in  crystals. 

It  is  a matter  of  some  interest  to  notice  here  that,  in  the 
mode  of  procedure  adopted,  everything  combined  to  prevent 
the  interference  of  air.  A portion  of  the  liquid  expelled  at 
the  beginning  of  the  experiment,  partly  because  of  the  in- 
creased temperature  in  the  oven  and  partly  also  by  the  force 
of  the  gas,  as  it  began  to  be  evolved  from  the  fermentative 
action,  reached  the  surface  of  the  mercury,  where,  being  the 
most  suitable  medium  we  know  for  the  growth  of  bacteria, 
it  speedily  swarmed  with  these  organisms.2  In  this  way  any 

2 The  naturalist  Cohn,  of  Breslau,  who  published  an  excellent  work  on 
bacteria  in  1872,  described,  after  Mayer,  the  composition  of  a liquid  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  propagation  of  these  organisms,  which  it  would  be  well 
to  compare  for  its  utility  in  studies  of  this  kind  with  our  solution  of  lactate 
and  phosphates.  The  following  is  Cohn’s  formula: 

Distilled  water 20  cc.  (0.7  fl.  oz.) 

Phosphate  of  potassium o.  1 gramme  (1.5  grains) 

Sulphate  of  magnesium 0.1  “ 

Tribasic  phosphate  of  lime 0.01  “ (0.15  grain) 

Tartrate  of  ammonia 0.2  “ (3  grains) 

This  liquid,  the  author  says,  has  a feeble  acid  reaction  and  forms  a per- 
fectly clear  solution. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


343 


passage  of  air,  if  such  a thing  were  possible,  between  the 
mercury  and  the  sides  of  the  delivery-tube  was  altogether 
prevented,  since  the  bacteria  would  consume  every  trace  of 
oxygen  which  might  be  dissolved  in  the  liquid  lying  on  the 
surface  of  the  mercury.  Hence  it  is  impossible  to  imagine 
that  the  slightest  trace  of  oxygen  could  have  got  into  the 
liquid  in  the  flask. 

Before  passing  on  we  may  remark  that  in  this  ready  ab- 
sorption of  oxygen  by  bacteria  we  have  a means  of  de- 
priving fermentable  liquids  of  every  trace  of  that  gas  with  a 
facility  and  success  equal  or  even  greater  than  by  the  pre- 
liminary method  of  boiling.  Such  a solution  as  we  have 
described,  if  kept  at  summer  heat,  without  any  previous 
boiling,  becomes  turbid  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours 
from  a spontaneous  development  of  bacteria;  and  it  is  easy 
to  prove  that  they  absorb  all  the  oxygen  held  in  solution.8 
If  we  completely  fill  a flask  of  a few  litres  capacity  (about  a 
gallon)  (Fig.  9)  with  the  liquid  described,  taking  care  to 
have  the  delivery-tube  also  filled,  and  its  opening  plunged 
under  mercury,  and,  forty-eight  hours  afterwards  by  means 
of  a chloride  of  calcium  bath,  expel  from  the  liquid  on  the 
surface  of  the  mercury  all  the  gas  which  it  holds  in  solution, 
this  gas,  when  analyzed,  will  be  found  to  be  composed  of  a 
mixture  of  nitrogen  and  carbonic  acid  gas,  without  the  least 
trace  of  oxygen.  Here,  then,  we  have  an  excellent  means 
of  depriving  the  fermentable  liquid  of  air;  we  simply  have 
completely  to  fill  a flask  with  the  liquid,  and  place  it  in  the 
oven,  merely  avoiding  any  addition  of  butyric  vibrios,  before 
the  lapse  of  two  or  three  days.  We  may  wait  even  longer; 
and  then,  if  the  liquid  does  become  impregnated  sponta- 
neously with  vibrio  germs,  the  liquid,  which  at  first  was 
turbid  from  the  presence  of  bacteria,  will  become  bright 
again,  since  the  bacteria,  when  deprived  of  life,  or,  at  least, 
of  the  power  of  moving,  after  they  have  exhausted  all  the 
oxygen  in  solution,  will  fall  inert  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 
On  several  occasions  we  have  determined  this  interesting 
fact,  which  tends  to  prove  that  the  butyric  vibrios  cannot  be 
regarded  as  another  form  of  bacteria,  inasmuch  as,  on  the 


^ On  the  rapid  absorption  of  oxygen  by  bacteria,  see  also  our  Memoire 
of  1872,  sur  les  Generations  dites  Spontanees,  especially  the  note  on  page  78. 


344 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


hypothesis  of  an  original  relation  between  the  two  produc- 
tions, butyric  fermentation  ought  in  every  case  to  follow 
the  growth  of  bacteria. 

We  may  also  call  attention  to  another  striking  experiment, 
well  suited  to  show  the  effect  of  differences  in  the  composi- 
tion of  the  medium  upon  the  propagation  of  microscopic 
beings.  The  fermentation  which  we  last  described  com- 
menced on  March  27th  and  continued  until  May  10th;  that  to 
which  we  are  now  to  refer,  however,  was  completed  in  four 
days,  the  liquid  employed  being  similar  in  composition  and 
quantity  to  that  employed  in  the  former  experiment.  On 
April  23,  1875,  we  filled  a flask  of  the  same  shape  as  that  rep- 
resented in  Fig.  ii,  and  of  similar  capacity,  viz.,  6 litres, 
with  a liquid  composed  as  described  at  page  69.  This  liquid 
had  been  previously  left  to  itself  for  five  days  in  large 
open  flasks,  in  consequence  of  which  it  had  developed  an 
abundant  growth  of  bacteria.  On  the  fifth  day  a few  bubbles, 
rising  from  the  bottom  of  the  vessels,  at  long  intervals,  be- 
tokened the  commencement  of  butyric  fermentation,  a fact, 
moreover,  confirmed  by  the  microscope,  in  the  appearance  of 
the  vibrios  of  this  fermentation  in  specimens  of  the  liquid 
taken  from  the  bottom  of  the  vessels,  the  middle  of  its  mass, 
and  even  in  the  layer  on  the  surface  that  was  swarming 
with  bacteria.  We  transferred  the  liquid  so  prepared  to  the 
6-litre  flask  arranged  over  the  mercury.  By  evening  a 
tolerably  active  fermentation  had  begun  to  manifest  itself. 
On  the  24th  this  fermentation  was  proceeding  with  aston- 
ishing rapidity,  which  continued  during  the  25th  and  26th. 
During  the  evening  of  the  26th  it  slackened,  and  on  the  27th 
all  signs  of  fermentation  had  ceased.  This  was  not,  as  might 
be  supposed,  a sudden  stoppage  due  to  some  unknown  cause ; 
the  fermentation  was  actually  completed,  for  when  we  ex- 
amined the  fermented  liquid  on  the  28th  we  could  not  find 
the  smallest  quantity  of  lactate  of  lime.  If  the  needs  of  in- 
dustry should  ever  require  the  production  of  large  quantities 
of  butyric  acid,  there  would,  beyond  doubt,  be  found  in  the 
preceding  fact  valuable  information  in  devising  an  easy 
method  of  preparing  that  product  in  abundance.4 

* In  what  way  ar<°  we  to  account  for  so  great  a difference  between  the 
two  fermentations  that  we  have  just  described?  Probably  it  was  owing  to 
some  modification  effected  in  the  medium  by  the  previous  life  of  the  bac* 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


345 


Before  we  go  any  further,  let  us  devote  some  attention  to 
the  vibrios  of  the  preceding  fermentations. 

On  May  27th,  1862,  we  completely  filled  a flask  capable  of 
holding  2.780  litres  (about  five  pints)  with  the  solution  of 
lactate  and  phosphates.6  We  refrained  from  impregnating 
it  with  any  germs.  The  liquid  became  turbid  from  a devel- 
opment of  bacteria  and  then  underwent  butyric  fermenta- 
tion. By  June  9th  the  fermentation  had  become  sufficiently 
active  to  enable  us  to  collect  in  the  course  of  twenty-four 
hours,  over  mercury,  as  in  all  our  experiments,  about  100  cc. 
(about  6 cubic  inches)  of  gas.  By  June  nth,  judging  from 
the  volume  of  gas  liberated  in  the  course  of  twenty-four 
hours,  the  activity  of  the  fermentation  had  doubled.  We 
examined  a drop  of  the  turbid  liquid.  Here  are  the  notes 
accompanying  the  sketch  (Fig.  12)  as  they  stand  in  our 
note-book:  “A  swarm  of  vibrios,  so  active  in 
their  movements  that  the  eye  has  great  difficulty  & 
in  following  them.  They  may  be  seen  in  pairs  g 
throughout  the  field,  apparently  making  efforts  to 
separate  from  each  other.  The  connection  would 
seem  to  be  by  some  invisible,  gelatinous  thread, 
which  yields  so  far  to  their  efforts  that  they  succeed  in  break- 
ing away  from  actual  contact,  but  yet  are,  for  a while,  so  far 
restrained  that  the  movements  of  one  have  a visible  effect 
on  those  of  the  other.  By  and  by,  however,  we  see  a com- 
plete separation  effected,  and  each  moves  on  its  separate  way 
with  an  activity  greater  than  it  ever  had  before.” 

One  of  the  best  methods  that  can  be  employed  for  the 


Fig.  12 


teria,  or  to  the  special  character  of  the  vibrios  used  in  impregnation. 
Or,  again,  it  might  have  been  due  to  the  action  of  the  air,  which,  under 
the  conditions  of  our  second  experiment,  was  not  absolutely  eliminated, 
since  we  took  no  precaution  against  its  introduction  at  the  moment  of  fill- 
ing our  flask,  and  this  would  tend  to  facilitate  the  multiplication  of  anaero- 
bian  vibrios,  just  as,  under  similar  conditions,  would  have  been  the  case 
if  we  had  been  dealing  with  a fermentation  by  ordinary  yeast. 

5 In  this  case  the  liquid  was  composed  as  follows:  A saturated  solution 
of  lactate  of  lime,  at  a temperature  of  25  ° C.  ( 77 0 F.),  was  prepared,  con- 
taining for  every  100  cc.  (3%  fl.  oz.)  25.65  grammes  (394  grains)  of  the 
lactate,  CeHsOsCaO  ( new  notation,  CeHioCaOe).  This  solution  was  ren- 
dered very  clear  by  the  addition  of  1 gramme  of  phosphate  of  ammonia  and 
subsequent  filtration.  For  a volume  of  8 litres  (14  pints)  of  this  clear 
saturated  solution  we  used  (1  gramme=i5.43  grains): 

Phosphate  of  ammonia 2 grammes 

Phosphate  of  potassium 1 44 

Phosphate  of  magnesium 1 44 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 0.5  44 


346 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


microscopical  examination  of  these  vibrios,  quite  out  of 
contact  with'  air,  is  the  following.  After  butyric  fermenta- 
tion has  been  going  on  for  several  days  in  a flask,  (Fig.  13), 
we  connect  this  flask  by  an  india-rubber  tube  with  one  of 
the  flattened  bulbs  previously  described,  which  we  then 
place  on  the  stage  of  the  microscope  (Fig.  13).  When  we 


wish  to  make  an  observation  we  close,  under  the  mercury, 
at  the  point  b,  the  end  of  the  drawn-out  and  bent  delivery- 
tube.  The  continued  evolution  of  gas  soon  exerts  such  a 
pressure  within  the  flask,  that  when  we  open  the  tap  r, 
the  liquid  is  driven  into  the  bulb  1 1,  until  it  becomes  quite 
full  and  the  liquid  flows  over  into  the  glass  V.  In  this 
manner  we  may  bring  the  vibrios  under  observation  with- 
out their  coming  into  contact  with  the  least  trace  of  air, 
and  with  as  much  success  as  if  the  bulb,  which  takes  the 
place  of  an  object  glass,  had  been  plunged  into  the  very 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


347 


centre  of  the  flask.  The  movements  and  fissiparous  multi- 
plication of  the  vibrios  may  thus  be  seen  in  all  their 
beauty,  and  it  is  indeed  a most  interesting  sight.  The 
movements  do  not  immediately  cease  when  the  tempera- 
ture is  suddenly  lowered,  even  to  a considerable  extent,  150 
C.  (590  F.)  for  example;  they  are  only  slackened.  Never- 
theless, it  is  better  to  observe  them  at  the  temperatures  most 
favourable  to  fermentation,  even  in  the  oven  where  the 
vessels  employed  in  the  experiment  are  kept  at  a tempera- 
ture between  25°  C.  and  30°  C.  (770  F.  and  86°  F.). 

We  may  now  continue  our  account  of  the  fermentation 
which  we  were  studying  when  we  made  this  last  digression. 
On  June  17th  that  fermentation  produced  three  times  as 
much  gas  as  it  did  on  June  nth,  when  the  residue  of 
hydrogen,  after  absorption  by  potash,  was  72.6  per  cent.; 
whilst  on  the  17th  it  was  only  49.2  per  cent.  Let  us  again 
discuss  the  microscopic  aspect  of  the  turbid  liquid  at  this 
stage.  Appended  is  the  sketch  we  made  (Fig.  14)  and  our 
notes  on  it:  “A  most  beautiful  object:  vibrios  all  in  motion, 
advancing  or  undulating.  They  have  grown  considerably 
in  bulk  and  length  since  the  nth;  many  of  them  are  joined 
together  in  long  sinuous  chains,  very 
mobile  at  the  articulations,  visibly  less 
active  and  more  wavering  in  proportion 
to  the  number  that  go  to  form  the  chain, 
of  the  length  of  the  individuals.” 

This  description  is  applicable  to  the 
majority  of  the  vibrios  which  occur 
in  cylindrical  rods  and  are  homogene- 
ous in  aspect.  There  are  others,  of 
rare  occurrence  in  chains,  which  have 
a clear  corpuscle,  that  is  to  say,  a portion  more  refractive 
than  other  parts  of  the  segments,  at  one  of  their  extremities. 
Sometimes  the  foremost  segment  has  the  corpuscle  at  one 
end,  sometimes  the  other.  The  long  segments  of  the  com- 
moner kind  attain  a length  of  from  10  to  30  and  even  45 
thousandths  of  a millimetre.  Their  diameter  is  from  ij4  to 
2,  very  rarely  3,  thousandths  of  a millimetre.3 

6 1 millimetre=:o.o39  inch:  hence  the  dimensions  indicated  will  be — 
length,  from  0.00039  to  0.001 17,  or  even  0.00176  in.;  diameter,  from 
0.000058  to  0.000078,  rarely  0.0001 17  in. — D.  C.  R. 


348 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


On  June  28th,  fermentation  was  quite  finished;  there  was 
no  longer  any  trace  of  gas,  nor  any  lactate  in  solution.  All 
the  infusoria  were  lying  motionless  at  the  bottom  of  the 
flask.  The  liquid  clarified  by  degrees,  and  in  the  course  of 
a few  days  became  quite  bright.  Here  we  may  inquire,  were 
these  motionless  infusoria,  which  from  complete  exhaustion 
of  the  lactate,  the  source  of  the  carbonaceous  part  of  their 
food,  were  now  lying  inert  at  the  bottom  of  the  fermenting 
vessel — were  they  dead  beyond  the  power  of  revival?7  The 
following  experiment  leads  us  to  believe  that  they  were  not 
perfectly  lifeless,  and  that  they  might  behave  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  yeast  of  beer,  which,  after  it  has  decomposed 
all  the  sugar  in  a fermentable  liquid,  is  ready  to  revive  and 
multiply  in  a fresh  saccharine  medium.  On  April  22nd, 
1875,  we  left  in  the  oven  at  a temperature  of  250  C.  (770  F.) 
a fermentation  of  lactate  of  lime  that  had  been  completed. 
The  delivery  tube  of  the  flask  A,  (Fig.  15),  in  which  it  had 
taken  place,  had  never  been  withdrawn  from  under  the 
mercury.  We  kept  the  liquid  under  observation  daily,  and 
saw  it  gradually  become  brighter;  this  went  on  for  fifteen 
days.  We  then  filled  a similar  flask,  B,  with  the  solution  of 
lactate,  which  we  boiled,  not  only  to  kill  the  germs  of 
vibrios  which  the  liquid  might  contain,  but  also  to  expel 
the  air  that  it  held  in  solution.  When  the  flask,  B,  had 
cooled,  we  connected  the  two  flasks,  avoiding  the  introduc- 
tion of  air,8  after  having  slightly  shaken  the  flask,  A,  to  stir 
up  the  deposit  at  the  bottom.  There  was  then  a pressure 
due  to  carbonic  acid  at  the  end  of  the  delivery  tube  of  this 
latter  flask,  at  the  point  a,  so  that  on  opening  the  taps  r and 
s,  the  deposit  at  the  bottom  of  flask  A was  driven  over  into 
flask  B,  which  in  consequence  was  impregnated  with  the 
deposit  of  a fermentation  that  had  been  completed  fifteen 
days  before.  Two  days  after  impregnation  the  flask  B be- 

1 The  carbonaceous  supply,  as  we  remarked,  had  failed  them,  and  to  this 
failure  the  absence  of  vital  action,  nutrition,  and  multiplication  was  at- 
tributable. The  liquid,  however,  contained  butyrate  of  lime,  a salt  possess- 
ing properties  similar  to  those  of  the  lactate.  Why  could  not  this  salt 
equally  well  support  the  life  of  the  vibrios?  The  explanation  of  the  diffi- 
culty seems  to  us  to  lie  simply  in  the  fact  that  lactic  acid  produces  heat 
by  its  decomposition,  whilst  butyric  acid  does  not,  and  the  vibrios  seem 
to  require  heat  during  the  chemical  process  of  their  nutrition. 

8 To  do  this  it  is  sufficient,  first,  to  fill  the  curved  ends  of  the  stop- 
cocked  tubes  of  the  flasks,  as  well  as  the  india-rubber  tube  c c which 
connects  them,  with  boiling  water  that  contains  no  air. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


349 


gan  to  show  signs  of  fermentation.  It  follows  that  the 
deposit  of  vibrios  of  a completed  butyric  fermentation  may 
be  kept,  at  least  for  a certain  time,  without  losing  the  power 


c C 


Fig.  is 

of  causing  fermentation.  It  furnishes  a butyric  ferment, 
capable  of  revival  and  action  in  a suitable  fresh  fermentable 
medium. 

The  reader  who  has  attentively  studied  the  facts  which 
we  have  placed  before  him  cannot,  in  our  opinion,  entertain 
the  least  doubt  on  the  subject  of  the  possible  multiplication 
of  the  vibrios  of  a fermentation  of  lactate  of  lime  out  of 
contact  with  atmospheric  oxygen.  If  fresh  proofs  of  this 
important  proposition  were  necessary,  they  might  be  found 
in  the  following  observations,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred 
that  atmospheric  oxygen  is  capable  of  suddenly  checking  a 
fermentation  produced  by  butyric  vibrios,  and  rendering 
them  absolutely  motionless,  so  that  it  cannot  be  necessary  to 
enable  them  to  live.  On  May  7th,  1862,  we  placed  in  the 
oven  a flask  holding  2.580  litres  (4T2  pints),  and  filled  with 
the  solution  of  lactate  of  lime  and  phosphates,  which  we  had 
impregnated  on  the  9th  with  two  drops  of  a liquid  in  butyric 
fermentation.  In  the  course  of  a few  days  fermentation 
declared  itself:  on  the  18th  it  was  active;  on  the  30th  it  was 
very  active.  On  June  1st  it  yielded  hourly  35  cc.  (2.3  cubic 


350 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


inches)  of  gas,  containing  ten  per  cent,  of  hydrogen.  On 
the  2nd  we  began  the  study  of  the  action  of  air  on  the 
vibrios  of  this  fermentation.  To  do  this  we  cut  off  the 
delivery-tube  on  a level  with  its  point  of  junction  to  the 
flask,  then  with  a 50  cc.  pipette  we  took  out  that  quantity 
(i^4  fl.  oz.)  of  liquid  which  was,  of  course,  replaced  at  once 
by  air.  We  then  reversed  the  flask  with  the  opening  under 
the  mercury,  and  shook  it  every  ten  minutes  for  more  than 
an  hour.  Wishing  to  make  sure,  to  begin  with,  that  the 
oxygen  had  been  absorbed  we  connected  under  the  mercury 
the  beak  of  the  flask  by  means  of  a thin  india-rubber  tube 
filled  with  water,  with  a small  flask,  the  neck  of  which  had 
been  drawn  out  and  was  filled  with  water;  we  then  raised 
the  large  flask  with  the  smaller  kept  above  it.  A Mohr’s 
clip,  which  closed  the  india-rubber  tube,  and  which  we  then 
opened,  permitted  the  water  contained  in  the  small  flask  to 
pass  into  the  large  one,  whilst  the  gas,  on  the  contrary, 
passed  upwards  from  the  large  flask  into  the  small  one.  We 
analyzed  the  gas  immediately,  and  found  that,  allowing  for 
the  carbonic  acid  and  hydrogen,  it  did  not  contain  more  than 
14.2  per  cent,  of  oxygen,  which  corresponds  to  an  absorption 
of  6.6  cc.,  or  of  3.3  cc.  (0.2  cubic  inch)  of  oxygen  for  the 
50  cc.  (3.05  cubic  inches)  of  air  employed.  Lastly,  we  again 
established  connection  by  an  india-rubber  tube  between  the 
flasks,  after  having  seen  by  microscopical  examination  that 
the  movements  of  the  vibrios  were  very  languid.  Fermenta- 
tion had  become  less  vigorous  without  having  actually 
ceased,  no  doubt  because  some  portions  of  the  liquid  had  not 
been  brought  into  contact  with  the  atmospheric  oxygen,  in 
spite  of  the  prolonged  shaking  that  the  flask  had  undergone 
after  the  introduction  of  the  air.  Whatever  the  cause  might 
have  been,  the  significance  of  the  phenomenon  is  not  doubt- 
ful. To  assure  ourselves  further  of  the  effect  of  air  on  the 
vibrios,  we  half  filled  two  test  tubes  with  the  fermenting 
liquid  taken  from  another  fermentation  which  had  also  at- 
tained its  maximum  of  intensity,  into  one  of  which  we 
passed  a current  of  air,  into  the  other  carbonic  acid  gas.  In 
the  course  of  half  an  hour,  all  the  vibrios  in  the  aerated  tube 
were  dead,  or  at  least  motionless,  and  fermentation  had 
ceased.  In  the  other  tube,  after  three  hours’  exposure  to  the 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


351 


effects  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  the  vibrios  were  still  very 
active,  and  fermentation  was  going  on. 

There  is  a most  simple  method  of  observing  the  deadly 
effect  of  atmospheric  air  upon  vibrios.  We  have  seen  in 
the  microscopical  examination  made  by  means  of  the  appa- 
ratus represented  in  Fig.  13,  how  remarkable  were  the  move- 
ments of  the  vibrios  when  absolutely  deprived  of  air,  and 
how  easy  it  was  to  discern  them.  We  will  repeat  this  obser- 
vation, and  at  the  same  time  make  a comparative  study  of 
the  same  liquid  under  the  microscope  in  the  ordinary  way, 
that  is  to  say,  by  placing  a drop  of  the  liquid  on  an  object- 
glass,  and  covering  it  with  a thin  glass  slip,  a method  which 
must  necessarily  bring  the  drop. into  contact  with  air,  if 
only  for  a moment.  It  is  surprising  what  a remarkable 
difference  is  observed  immediately  between  the  movements 
of  the  vibrios  in  the  bulb  and  those  under  the  glass.  In 
the  case  of  the  latter,  we  generally  see  all  movement  at  once 
cease  near  the  edges  of  the  glass,  where  the  drop  of  liquid 
is  in  direct  contact  with  the  air;  the  movements  continue  for 
a longer  or  shorter  time  about  the  centre,  in  proportion  as 
the  air  is  more  or  less  intercepted  by  the  vibrios  at  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  liquid.  It  does  not  require  much  skill  in 
experiments  of  this  kind  to  enable  one  to  see  plainly  that 
immediately  after  the  glass  has  been  placed  on  the  drop, 
which  has  been  affected  all  over  by  atmospheric  air,  the 
whole  of  the  vibrios  seem  to  languish  and  to  manifest 
symptoms  of  illness — we  can  think  of  no  better  expression  to 
explain  what  we  see  taking  place — and  that  they  gradually 
recover  their  activity  about  the  centre,  in  proportion  as  they 
find  themselves  in  a part  of  the  medium  that  is  less  affected 
by  the  presence  of  oxygen. 

Some  of  the  most  curious  facts  are  to  be  found  in  con- 
nection with  an  observation,  the  correlative  and  inverse  of 
the  foregoing,  on  the  ordinary  aerobian  bacteria.  If  we 
examine  below  the  microscope  a drop  of  liquid  full  of  these 
organisms  under  a coverslip,  we  very  soon  observe  a cessa- 
tion of  motion  in  all  the  bacteria  which  lie  in  the  central 
portion  of  the  liquid,  where  the  oxygen  rapidly  disappears 
to  supply  the  necessities  of  the  bacteria  existing  there; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  near  the  edges  of  the  cover-glass 


352 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  movements  are  very  active,  in  consequence  of  the  con- 
stant supply  of  air.  In  spite  of  the  speedy  death  of  the  bac- 
teria beneath  the  centre  of  the  glass,  we  see  life  prolonged 
there  if  by  chance  a bubble  of  air  has  been  enclosed.  All 
round  this  bubble  a vast  number  of  bacteria  collect  in  a thick, 
moving  circle,  but  as  soon  as  all  the  oxygen  of  the  bubble 
has  been  absorbed  they  fall  apparently  lifeless,  and  are  scat- 
tered by  the  movement  of  the  liquid.9 

We  may  here  be  permitted  to  add,  as  a purely  historical 
matter,  that  it  was  these  two  observations  just  described, 
made  successively  one  day  in  1861,  on  vibrios  and  bacteria, 
that  first  suggested  to  us  the  idea  of  the  possibility  of  life 
without  air,  and  caused  us  to  think  that  the  vibrios  which  we 
met  so  frequently  in  our  lactic  fermentations  must  be  the 
true  butyric  ferment. 

We  may  pause  to  consider  an  interesting  question  in  refer- 
ence to  the  two  characters  under  which  vibrios  appear  in 
butyric  fermentations.  What  is  the  reason  that  some  vibrios 
exhibit  refractive  corpuscles,  generally  of  a lenticular  form, 
such  as  we  see  in  Fig.  14.  We  are  strongly  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  these  corpuscles  have  to  do  with  a special  mode 
of  reproduction  in  the  vibrios,  common  alike  to  the  anaero- 
bian  forms  which  we  are  studying,  and  the  ordinary  aerobian 
forms  in  which  also  the  corpuscles  of  which  we  are  speaking 
may  occur.  The  explanation  of  the  phenomenon,  from  our 
point  of  view,  would  be  that,  after  a certain  number  of  fis- 
siparous  generations,  and  under  the  influence  of  variations  in 
the  composition  of  the  medium,  which  is  constantly  changing 
through  fermentation  as  well  as  through  the  active  life  of 
the  vibrios  themselves,  cysts,  which  are  simply  the  refrac- 
tive corpuscles,  form  along  them  at  different  points.  From 
these  gemmules  we  have  ultimately  produced  vibrios,  ready 
to  reproduce  others  by  the  process  of  transverse  division 
for  a certain  time,  to  be  themselves  encysted,  later  on. 
Various  observations  incline  us  to  believe  that,  in  their  ordi- 

9 We  find  this  fact,  which  we  published  as  long  ago  as  1863,  confirmed 
in  a work  of  H.  Hoffman’s,  published  in  1869  under  the  title  of  Memoire 
sur  les  bacteries,  which  has  appeared  in  French  ( Annales  des  Sciences 
naturelles,  5th  series,  vol.  ix.).  On  this  subject  we  may  cite  an  observa- 
tion that  has  not  yet  been  published.  Aerobian  bacteria  lose  all  power  of 
movement  when  suddenly  plunged  into  carbonic  acid  gas;  they  recover  it, 
however,  as  if  they  had  only  been  suffering  from  anaesthesia,  as  soon  as 
they  are  brought  into  the  air  again. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


353 


nary  form  of  minute,  soft,  exuberant  rods,  the  vibrios  perish 
when  submitted  to  desiccation  but  when  they  occur  in  cor- 
puscular or  encysted  form  they  possess  unusual  powers  of 
resistance  and  may  be  brought  to  the  state  of  dry  dust  and  be 
wafted  about  by  winds.  None  of  the  matter  which  surrounds 
the  corpuscle  or  cyst  seems  to  take  part  in  the  preservation 
of  the  germ,  when  the  cyst  is  formed,  for  it  is  all  re-absorbed, 
gradually  leaving  the  cyst  bare.  The  cysts  appear  as  masses 
of  corpuscles,  in  which  the  most  practiced  eye  cannot  detect 
anything  of  an  organic  nature,  or  anything  to  remind  one  of 
the  vibrios  which  produced  them ; nevertheless,  these  minute 
bodies  are  endowed  with  a latent  vital  action,  and  only  await 
favourable  conditions  to  develop  long  rods  of  vibrios.  We 
are  not,  it  is  true,  in  a position  to  adduce  any  very  forcible 
proofs  in  support  of  these  opinions.  They  have  been  sug- 
gested to  us  by  experiments,  none  of  which,  however,  have 
been  absolutely  decisive  in  their  favour.  We  may  cite  one 
of  our  observations  on  this  subject. 

In  a fermentation  of  glycerine  in  a mineral  medium — the 
glycerine  was  fermenting  under  the  influence  of  butyric 
vibrios — after  we  had  determined  the,  we  may  say,  exclusive 
presence  of  lenticular  vibrios,  with  refractive  corpuscles,  we 
observed  the  fermentation,  which  for  some  unknown  reason 
had  been  very  languid,  suddenly  become  extremely  active, 
but  now  through  the  influence  of  the  ordinary  vibrios.  The 
gemmules  with  brilliant  corpuscles  had  almost  disappeared ; 
we  could  see  but  very  few,  and  those  now  consisted  of  the 
refractive  bodies  alone,  the  bulk  of  the  vibrios  accompanying 
them  having  undergone  some  process  of  re-absorption. 

Another  observation  which  still  more  closely  accords  with 
this  hypothesis  is  given  in  our  work  on  silk-worm  disease 
(vol.  i,  p.  256).  We  there  demonstrated  that,  when  we 
place  in  water  some  of  the  dust  formed  of  desiccated  vibrios, 
containing  a host  of  these  refractive  corpuscles,  in  the 
course  of  a very  few  hours  large  vibrios  appear,  well-devel- 
oped rods  fully  grown,  in  which  the  brilliant  points  are 
absent;  whilst  in  the  water  no  process  of  development  from 
smaller  vibrios  is  to  be  discerned,  a fact  which  seems  to  show 
that  the  former  had  issued  fully  grown  from  the  refractive 
corpuscles,  just  as  we  see  colpoda  issue  with  their  adult 

( 12)  HCXXXVTTT 


354 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


aspect  from  the  dust  of  their  cysts.  This  observation,  we 
may  remark,  furnishes  one  of  the  best  proofs  that  can  be 
adduced  against  the  spontaneous  generation  of  vibrios  or 
bacteria,  since  it  is  probable  that  the  same  observation 
applies  to  bacteria.  It  is  true  that  we  cannot  say  of  mere 
points  of  dust  examined  under  the  microscope,  that  one  par- 
ticular germ  belongs  to  vibrio,  another  to  bacterium ; but  how 
is  it  possible  to  doubt  that  the  vibrios  issue,  as  we  see  them, 
from  an  ovum  of  some  kind,  a cyst,  or  germ,  of  determinate 
character,  when,  after  having  placed  some  of  those  indeter- 
minate motes  of  dust  into  clean  water,  we  suddenly  see,  after 
an  interval  of  not  more  than  one  or  two  hours,  an  adult 
vibrio  crossing  the  field  of  the  microscope,  without  our 
having  been  able  to  detect  any  intermediate  state  between 
its  birth  and  adolescence? 

It  is  a question  whether  differences  in  the  aspect  and 
nature  of  vibrios,  which  depend  upon  their  more  or  less 
advanced  age,  or  are  occasioned  by  the  influence  of  certain 
conditions  on  the  medium  in  which  they  propagate,  do  not 
bring  about  corresponding  changes  in  the  course  of  the 
fermentation  and  the  nature  of  its  products.  Judging  at 
least  from  the  variations  in  the  proportions  of  hydrogen 
and  carbonic  acid  gas  produced  in  butyric  fermentations, 
we  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  must  be  the  case;  nay, 
more,  we  find  that  hydrogen  is  not  even  a constant  product 
in  these  fermentations.  We  have  met  with  butyric  fer- 
, mentations  of  lactate  of  lime  which  did  not  yield  the 
minutest  trace  of  hydrogen,  or  anything  besides  carbonic 
acid.  Fig.  16  represents  the  vibrios  which  we  observed  in 


necessary  concomitant  of  these  fermenta- 


when  the  latter  assumed  a minimum.  This,  however,  is  by 
no  means  the  case ; even  in  those  few  fermentations  that  we 


a fermentation  of  this  kind.  They  present 
no  special  features.  Butyl  alcohol  is,  accord- 
ing to  our  observations,  an  ordinary  product, 
although  it  varies  and  is  by  no  means  a 


Fig.  16 


tions.  It  might  be  supposed,  since  butylic 
alcohol  may  be  produced,  and  hydrogen  be  in 
deficit,  that  the  proportion  of  the  former  of 
these  products  would  attain  its  maximum 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION  355 

have  met  with  in  which  hydrogen  was  absent,  there  was  no 
formation  of  butylic  alcohol. 

From  a consideration  of  all  the  facts  detailed  in  this  sec- 
tion we  can  have  no  hesitation  in  concluding  that,  on  the 
one  hand,  in  cases  of  butyric  fermentation,  the  vibrios  which 
abound  in  them  and  constitute  their  ferment,  live  without 
air  or  free  oxygen ; and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  pres- 
ence of  gaseous  oxygen  operates  prejudicially  against  the 
movements  and  activity  of  those  vibrios.  But  now  does 
it  follow  that  the  presence  of  minute  quantities  of  air 
brought  into  contact  with  a liquid  undergoing  butyric  fer- 
mention  would  prevent  the  continuance  of  that  fermenta- 
tion or  even  exercise  any  check  upon  it?  We  have  not 
made  any  direct  experiments  upon  this  subject;  but  we 
should  not  be  surprised  to  find  that,  so  far  from  hindering, 
air  may,  under  such  circumstances,  facilitate  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  vibrios  and  accelerate  fermentation.  This  is  ex- 
actly what  happens  in  the  case  of  yeast.  But  how  could 
we  reconcile  this,  supposing  it  were  proved  to  be  the  case, 
with  the  fact  just  insisted  on  as  to  the  danger  of  bringing 
the  butyric  vibrios  into  contact  with  air  ? It  may  be  possible 
that  life  without  air  results  from  habit,  whilst  death  through 
air  may  be  brought  about  by  a sudden  change  in  the  con- 
ditions of  the  existence  of  the  vibrios.  The  following  re- 
markable experiment  is  well-known : A bird  is  placed  in  a 
glass  jar  of  one  or  two  litres  (60  to  120  cubic  inches)  in 
capacity  which  is  then  closed.  After  a time  the  creature 
shows  every  sign  of  intense  uneasiness  and  asphyxia  long 
before  it  dies;  a similar  bird  of  the  same  size  is  introduced 
into  the  jar;  the  death  of  the  latter  takes  place  instanteously, 
whilst  the  life  of  the  former  may  still  be  prolonged  under 
these  conditions  for  a considerable  time,  and  there  is  no 
difficulty  even  in  restoring  the  bird  to  perfect  health  by 
taking  it  out  of  the  jar.  It  seems  impossible  to  deny  that 
we  have  here  a case  of  the  adaptation  of  an  organism  to 
the  gradual  contamination  of  the  medium;  and  so  it  may 
likewise  happen  that  the  anaerobian  vibrios  of  a butyric 
fermentation,  which  develop  and  multiply  absolutely  without 
free  oxygen,  perish  immediately  when  suddenly  taken  out 
of  their  airless  medium,  and  that  the  result  might  be  dif- 


35S 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


ferent  if  they  had  been  gradually  brought  under  the  action 
of  air  in  small  quantities  at  a time. 

We  are  compelled  here  to  admit  that  vibrios  frequently 
abound  in  liquids  exposed  to  the  air,  and  that  they  appro- 
priate the  atmospheric  oxygen,  and  could  not  withstand  a 
sudden  removal  from  its  influence.  Must  we,  then,  believe 
that  such  vibrios  are  absolutely  different  from  those  of 
butyric  fermentations?  It  would,  perhaps,  be  more  natural 
to  admit  that  in  the  one  case  there  is  an  adaptation  to  life 
with  air,  and  in  the  other  case  an  adaptation  to  life  with- 
out air ; each  of  the  varieties  perishing  when  suddenly  trans- 
ferred from  its  habitual  condition  to  that  of  the  other,  whilst 
by  a series  of  progressive  changes  one  might  be  modified 
into  the  other.10  We  know  that  in  the  case  of  alcoholic 
ferments,  although  these  can  actually  live  without  air,  prop- 
agation is  wonderfully  assisted  by  the  presence  of  minute 
quantities  of  air;  and  certain  experiments  which  we  have 
not  yet  published  lead  us  to  believe  that,  after  having  lived 
without  air,  they  cannot  be  suddenly  exposed  with  impunity 
to  the  influence  of  large  quantities  of  oxygen. 

We  must  not  forget,  however,  that  aerobian  torulae  and 
anaerobian  ferments  present  an  example  of  organisms  ap- 
parently identical,  in  which,  however,  we  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  discover  any  ties  of  a common  origin.  Hence  we  are 
forced  to  regard  them  as  a distinct  species ; and  so  it  is  pos- 
sible that  there  may  likewise  be  aerobian  and  anaerobian  vib- 
rios without  any  transformation  of  the  one  into  the  other. 

The  question  has  been  raised  whether  vibrios,  especially 
those  which  we  have  shown  to  be  the  ferment  of  butyric 
and  many  other  fermentations,  are  in  their  nature,  animal 
or  vegetable.  M.  Ch.  Robin  attaches  great  importance  to 
the  solution  of  this  question,  of  which  he  speaks  as  fol- 
lows : 11  “ The  determination  of  the  nature,  whether  animal 
or  vegetable,  of  organisms,  either  as  a whole  or  in  respect  to 
their  anatomical  parts,  assimilative  or  reproductive,  is  a 
problem  which  has  been  capable  of  solution  for  a quarter 
of  a century.  The  method  has  been  brought  to  a state 

10  These  doubts  might  be  easily  removed  by  putting  the  matter  to  the 

test  of  direct  experiment.  , . 

11  Robin,  Sur  la  nature  des  fermentations,  &c.  ( Journal  de  l’ Academte  et 
de  la  Physiologie,  July  and  August,  1875,  p.  386). 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


357 


of  remarkable  precision,  experimentally,  as  well  as  in  its 
theoretical  aspects,  since  those  who  devote  their  attention 
to  the  organic  sciences  consider  it  indispensable  in  every 
observation  and  experiment  to  determine  accurately,  before 
anything  else,  whether  the  object  of  their  study  is  animal 
or  vegetable  in  its  nature,  whether  adult  or  otherwise.  To 
neglect  this  is  as  serious  an  omission  for  such  students 
as  for  chemists  would  be  the  neglecting  to  determine  whether 
it  is  nitrogen  or  hydrogen,  urea  or  stearine,  that  has  been 
extracted  from  a tissue,  or  which  it  is  whose  combina- 
tions they  are  studying  in  this  or  that  chemical  operation. 
Now,  scarcely  any  one  of  those  who  study  fermentations, 
properly  so-called,  and  putrefactions,  ever  pay  any  attention 
to  the  preceding  data.  . . . Among  the  observers  to  whom 
I allude,  even  M.  Pasteur  is  to  be  found,  who,  even  in  his 
most  recent  communications,  omits  to  state  definitely  what 
is  the  nature  of  many  of  the  ferments  which  he  has  studied, 
with  the  exception,  however,  of  those  which  belong  to  the 
cryptogamic  group  called  torulaceae.  Various  passages  in 
his  work  seem  to  show  that  he  considers  the  cryptogamic 
organisms  called  bacteria,  as  well  as  those  known  as  vibrios, 
as  belonging  to  the  animal  kingdom  (see  Bulletin  de  I’Acad- 
emie  de  Medecine,  Paris,  1875,  pp.  249,  251,  especially  256, 
2 66,  267,  289,  and  290).  These  would  be  very  different,  at 
least  physiologically,  the  former  being  anaerobian,  that  is 
to  say,  requiring  no  air  to  enable  them  to  live,  and  being 
killed  by  oxygen,  should  it  be  dissolved  in  the  liquid  to  any 
considerable  extent.” 

We  are  unable  to  see  the  matter  in  the  same  light  as  our 
learned  colleague  does ; to  our  thinking,  we  should  be  la- 
bouring under  a great  delusion  were  we  to  suppose  “ that  it 
is  quite  as  serious  an  omission  not  to  determine  the  animal 
or  vegetable  nature  of  a ferment  as  it  would  be  to  con- 
found nitrogen  with  hydrogen  or  urea  with  stearine.”  The 
importance  of  the  solutions  of  disputed  questions  often  de- 
pends on  the  point  of  view  from  which  these  are  regarded. 
As  far  as  the  result  of  our  labours  is  concerned,  we  de- 
voted our  attention  to  these  two  questions  exclusively:  1.  Is 
the  ferment,  in  every  fermentation  properly  so  called,  an 
organized  being?  2.  Can  this  organized  being  live  without 


358 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


air?  Now,  what  bearing  can  the  question  of  the  animal 
or  vegetable  nature  of  the  ferment,  of  the  organized  being, 
have  upon  the  investigation  of  these  two  problems?  In 
studying  butyric  fermentation,  for  example,  we  endeavoured 
to  establish  these  two  fundamental  points ; x.  The  butyric 
ferment  is  a vibrio.  2.  This  vibrio  may  dispense  with  air 
in  its  life,  and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  does  dispense  with  it  in 
the  act  of  producing  butyric  fermentation.  We  did  not 
consider  it  at  all  necessary  to  pronounce  any  opinion  as  to 
the  animal  or  vegetable  nature  of  this  organism,  and,  even 
up  to  the  present  moment,  the  idea  that  vibrio  is  an  animal 
and  not  a plant  is  in  our  minds,  a matter  of  sentiment 
rather  than  of  conviction. 

M.  Robin,  however,  would  have  no  difficulty  in  determin- 
ing the  limits  of  the  two  kingdoms.  According  to  him, 
“ every  variety  of  cellulose  is,  we  may  say,  insoluble  in 
ammonia,  as  also  are  the  reproductive  elements  of  plants, 
whether  male  or  female.  Whatever  phase  of  evolution  the 
elements  which  reproduce  a new  individual  may  have 
reached,  treatment  with  this  reagent,  either  cold  or  raised 
to  boiling,  leaves  them  absolutely  intact  under  the  eyes 
of  the  observer,  except  that  their  contents,  from  being 
partially  dissolved,  become  more  transparent.  Every  vege- 
table whether  microscopic  or  not,  every  mycelium  and  every 
spore,  thus  preserves  in  its  entirety  its  special  characteristics 
of  form,  volume  and  structural  arrangements;  whilst  in  the 
case  of  microscopic  animals,  or  the  ova  and  microscopic 
embryos  of  different  members  of  the  animal  kingdom,  the 
very  opposite  is  the  case.” 

We  should  be  glad  to  learn  that  the  employment  of  a 
drop  of  ammonia  would  enable  us  to  pronounce  an  opinion 
with  this  degree  of  confidence  on  the  nature  of  the  lowest 
microscopic  beings ; but  is  M.  Robin  absolutely  correct  in 
his  assumptions?  That  gentleman  himself  remarks  that 
spermatozoa,  which  belong  to  animal  organisms,  are  in- 
soluble in  ammonia,  the  effect  of  which  is  merely  to  make 
them  paler.  If  a difference  of  action  in  certain  reagents, 
in  ammonia,  for  example,  were  sufficient  to  determine  the 
limits  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  might  we  not 
argue  that  there  must  be  a very  great  and  natural  difference 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


359 


between  moulds  and  bacteria,  inasmuch  as  the  presence 
of  a small  quantity  of  acid  in  the  nutritive  medium  facili- 
tates the  growth  and  propagation  of  the  former,  whilst 
it  is  able  to  prevent  the  life  of  bacteria  and  vibrios?  Al- 
though as  is  well  known,  movement  is  not  an  exclusive 
characteristic  of  animals,  yet  we  have  always  been  inclined 
to  regard  vibrios  as  animals,  on  account  of  the  peculiar 
character  of  their  movements.  How  greatly  they  differ 
in  this  respect  from  the  diatomacae,  for  example ! When  the 
vibrio  encounters  an  obstacle  it  turns,  or  after  assuring 
itself  by  some  visual  effort  or  other  that  it  cannot  over- 
come it,  it  retraces  its  steps.  The  colpoda — undoubted  in- 
fusoria— behave  in  an  exactly  similar  manner.  It  is  true 
one  may  argue  that  the  zoospores  of  certain  cryptogamia 
exhibit  similar  movements ; but  do  not  these  zoospores  possess 
as  much  of  an  animal  nature  as  do  the  spermatozoa?  As 
far  as  bacteria  are  concerned,  when,  as  already  remarked, 
we  see  them  crowd  round  a bubble  of  air  in  a liquid 
to  prolong  their  life,  oxygen  having  failed  them  every- 
where else,  how  can  we  avoid  believing  that  they  are 
animated  by  an  instinct  for  life,  of  the  same  kind  that 
we  find  in  animals?  M.  Robin  seems  to  us  to  be  wrong 
in  supposing  that  it  is  possible  to  draw  any  absolute  line 
of  separation  between  the  animal  and  vegetable  king- 
doms. The  settlement  of  this  line  however,  we  repeat 
again,  no  matter  what  it  may  be,  has  no  serious  bearing 
upon  the  questions  that  have  been  the  subject  of  our 
researches. 

In  like  manner  the  difficulty  which  M.  Robin  has  raised 
in  objecting  to  the  employment  of  the  word  germ,  when 
we  cannot  specify  whether  the  nature  of  that  germ  is 
animal  or  vegetable,  is  in  many  respects  an  unnecessary 
one.  In  all  the  questions  which  we  have  discussed,  whether 
we  were  speaking  of  fermentation  or  spontaneous  gener- 
ation, the  word  germ  has  been  used  in  the  sense  of  origin 
of  living  organism.  If  Liebig,  for  example,  said  of  an 
albuminous  substance  that  it  gave  birth  to  ferment,  could  we 
contradict  him  more  plainly  than  by  replying  “No;  ferment 
is  an  organized  being,  the  germ  of  which  is  always  pres- 
ent, and  the  albuminous  substance  merely  serves  by  its 


360 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


occurrence  to  nourish  the  germ  and  its  successive  genera' 
tions  ” ? 

In  our  Memoir  of  1862,  on  so-called  spontaneous  gen- 
erations, would  it  not  have  been  an  entire  mistake  to  have 
attempted  to  assign  specific  names  to  the  microscopic  or- 
ganisms which  we  met  with  in  the  course  of  our  observa- 
tions? Not  only  would  we  have  met  with  extreme  dif- 
ficulty in  the  attempt,  arising  from  the  state  of  extreme 
confusion  which  even  in  the  present  day  exists  in  the  classi- 
fication and  nomenclature  of  these  microscopic  organisms, 
but  we  should  have  been  forced  to  sacrifice  clearness  in 
our  work  besides ; at  all  events,  we  should  have  wandered 
from  our  principal  object,  which  was  the  determination  of 
the  presence  or  absence  of  life  in  general,  and  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  manifestation  of  a particular  kind  of  life 
in  this  or  that  species,  animal  or  vegetable.  Thus  we  have 
systematically  employed  the  vaguest  nomenclature,  such 
as  mucors,  torulae,  bacteria,  and  vibrios.  There  was  noth- 
ing arbitrary  in  our  doing  this,  whereas  there  is  much  that 
is  arbitrary  in  adopting  a definite  system  of  nomenclature, 
and  applying  it  to  organisms  but  imperfectly  known,  the 
differences  or  resemblances  between  which  are  only  recog- 
nizable through  certain  characteristics,  the  true  signification 
of  which  is  obscure.  Take,  for  example,  the  extensive 
array  of  widely  different  systems  which  have  been  invented 
during  the  last  few  years  for  the  species  of  the  genera 
bacterium  and  vibrio  in  the  works  of  Cohn,  H.  Hoffmann, 
Hallier,  and  Billroth.  The  confusion  which  prevails  here 
is  very  great,  although  we  do  not  of  course  by  any  means 
place  these  different  works  on  the  same  footing  as  regards 
their  respective  merits. 

M.  Robin  is,  however,  right  in  recognizing  the  impossi- 
bility of  maintaining  in  the  present  day,  as  he  formerly 
did,  “ That  fermentation  is  an  exterior  phenomenon,  going 
on  outside  cryptogamic  cells,  a phenomenon  of  contact.  It 
is  probably,”  he  adds,  “ an  interior  and  molecular  action 
at  work  in  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  substance  of  each 
cell.”  From  the  day  when  we  first  proved  that  it  is  possible 
for  all  organized  ferments,  properly  so  called,  to  spring  up 
and  multiply  from  their  respective  germs,  sown,  whether 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


361 


consciously  or  by  accident,  in  a mineral  medium  free  from 
organic  and  nitrogenous  matters  other  than  ammonia,  in 
which  medium  the  fermentable  matter  alone  is  adapted  to 
provide  the  ferment  with  whatever  carbon  enters  into  its 
composition,  from  that  time  forward  the  theories  of  Liebig, 
as  well  of  Berzelius,  which  M.  Robin  formerly  defended, 
have  had  to  give  place  to  others  more  in  harmony  with 
facts.  We  trust  that  the  day  will  come  when  M.  Robin 
will  likewise  acknowledge  that  he  has  been  in  error  on  the 
subject  of  the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation,  which 
he  continues  to  affirm,  without  adducing  any  direct  proofs 
in  support  of  it,  at  the  end  of  the  article  to  which  we 
have  been  here  replying. 

We  have  devoted  the  greater  part  of  this  chapter  to  the 
establishing  with  all  possible  exactness  the  extremely  im- 
portant physiological  fact  of  life  without  air,  and  its  cor- 
relation to  the  phenomena  of  fermentations  properly  so- 
called — that  is  to  say,  of  those  which  are  due  to  the  pres- 
ence of  microscopic  cellular  organisms.  This  is  the  chief 
basis  of  the  new  theory  that  we  propose  for  the  explana- 
tion of  these  phenomena.  The  details  into  which  we  have 
entered  were  indispensable  on  account  of  the  novelty  of  the 
subject  no  less  than  on  account  of  the  necessity  we  were 
under  of  combating  the  criticisms  of  the  two  German  nat- 
uralists, Drs.  Oscar  Brefeld  and  Traube,  whose  works  had 
cast  some  doubts  on  the  correctness  of  the  facts  upon  which 
we  had  based  the  preceding  propositions.  We  have  much 
pleasure  in  adding  that  at  the  very  moment  we  were  re- 
vising the  proofs  of  this  chapter,  we  received  from  M.  Bre- 
feld an  essay,  dated  Berlin,  January,  1876,  in  which,  after 
describing  his  later  experimental  researches,  he  owns  with 
praiseworthy  frankness  that  Dr.  Traube  and  he  were  both 
of  them  mistaken.  Life  without  air  is  now  a proposition 
which  he  accepts  as  perfectly  demonstrated.  He  has  wit- 
nessed it  in  the  case  of  mucor  racemosus  and  has  also  veri- 
fied it  in  the  case  of  yeast.  “If,”  he  says,  “after  the  re- 
sults of  my  previous  researches,  which  I conducted  with 
all  possible  exactness,  I was  inclined  to  consider  Pasteur’s 
assertion  as  inaccurate  and  to  attack  them,  I have  no  hesi- 
tation now  in  recognizing  them  as  true,  and  in  proclaiming 


362 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  service  which  Pasteur  has  rendered  to  science  in  being 
the  first  to  indicate  the  exact  relation  of  things  in  the 
phenomenon  of  fermentation.”  In  his  later  researches,  Dr. 
Brefeld  has  adopted  the  method  which  we  have  long  em- 
ployed for  demonstrating  the  life  and  multiplication  of 
butyric  vibrios  in  the  entire  absence  of  air,  as  well  as  the 
method  of  conducting  growths  in  mineral  media  associated 
with  fermentable  substance.  We  need  not  pause  to  con- 
sider certain  other  secondary  criticisms  of  Dr.  Brefeld.  A 
perusal  of  the  present  work  will,  we  trust,  convince  him 
that  they  are  based  on  no  surer  foundation  than  were  his 
former  criticisms. 

To  bring  one’s  self  to  believe  in  a truth  that  has  just 
dawned  upon  one  is  the  first  step  towards  progress;  to  per- 
suade others  is  the  second.  There  is  a third  step,  less  use- 
ful perhaps,  but  highly  gratifying  nevertheless,  which  is, 
to  convince  one’s  opponents. 

We  therefore,  have  experienced  great  satisfaction  in 
learning  that  we  have  won  over  to  our  ideas  an  observer 
of  singular  ability,  on  a subject  which  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  the  physiology  of  cells. 


§ VI.  Reply  to  the  Critical  Observations  of  Liebig, 
Published  in  1870.1 

In  the  Memoir  which  we  published,  in  i860,  on  alcoholic 
fermentation,  and  in  several  subsequent  works,  we  were 
led  to  a different  conclusion  on  the  causes  of  this  very  re- 
markable phenomenon  from  that  which  Liebig  had  adopted. 
The  opinions  of  Mitscherlich  and  Berzelius  had  ceased  to 
be  tenable  in  the  presence  of  the  new  facts  which  we  had 
brought  to  light.  From  that  time  we  felt  sure  that  the 
' celebrated  chemist  of  Munich  had  adopted  our  conclusions, 
from  the  fact  that  he  remained  silent  on  this  question  for 
a long  time,  although  it  had  been  until  then  the  constant 
subject  of  his  study,  as  is  shown  by  all  his  works.  Sud- 
denly there  appeared  in  the  Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique 

x Liebig,  Sur  la  fermentation  et  la  source  de  la  force  rmisculaire 
( Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  4th  series,  t.  xxiii.,  p.  5,  1870). 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


363 


a long  essay,  reproduced  from  a lecture  delivered  by  him 
before  the  Academy  of  Bavaria  in  1868  and  1869.  In  this 
Liebig  again  maintained,  not,  however,  without  certain 
modifications,  the  views  which  he  had  expressed  in  his 
former  publications,  and  disputed  the  correctness  of  the 
principal  facts  enunciated  in  our  Memoir  of  i860,  on 
which  were  based  the  arguments  against  his  theory. 

“ I had  admitted,”  he  says,  “ that  the  resolution  of  fer- 
mentable matter  into  compounds  of  a simpler  kind  must  be 
traced  to  some  process  of  decomposition  taking  place  in 
the  ferment,  and  that  the  action  of  this  same  ferment  on 
the  fermentable  matter  must  continue  or  cease  according  to 
the  prolongation  or  cessation  of  the  alteration  produced  in  the 
ferment.  The  molecular  change  in  the  sugar,  would,  con- 
sequently, be  brought  about  by  the  destruction  or  modifica- 
tion of  one  or  more  of  the  component  parts  of  the  ferment, 
and  could  only  take  place  through  the  contact  of  the  two 
substances.  M.  Pasteur  regards  fermentation  in  the  fol- 
lowing light:  The  chemical  action  of  fermentation  is  es- 

sentially a phenomenon  correlative  with  a vital  action, 
beginning  and  ending  with  it.  He  believes  that  alcoholic 
fermentation  can  never  occur  without  the  simultaneous  oc- 
currence of  organization,  development,  and  multiplication  of 
globules,  or  continuous  life,  carried  on  from  globules  al- 
ready formed.  But  the  idea  that  the  decomposition  of 
sugar  during  fermentation  is  due  to  the  development  of 
the  cellules  of  the  ferment,  is  in  contradiction  with  the 
fact  that  the  ferment  is  able  to  bring  about  the  fermenta- 
tion of  a pure  solution  of  sugar.  The  greater  part  of  the 
ferment  is  composed  of  a substance  that  is  rich  in  nitrogen 
and  contains  sulphur.  It  contains,  moreover,  an  appreciable 
quantity  of  phosphates,  hence  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how, 
in  the  absence  of  these  elements  in  a pure  solution  of  sugar 
undergoing  fermentation,  the  number  of  cells  is  capable  of 
any  increase.” 

Notwithstanding  Liebig’s  belief  to  the  contrary,  the  idea 
that  the  decomposition  of  sugar  during  fermentation  is  in- 
timately connected  with  a development  of  the  cellules  of 
the  ferment,  or  a prolongation  of  the  life  of  cellules  already 
formed,  is  in  no  way  opposed  to  the  fact  that  the  ferment 


364 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


is  capable  of  bringing  about  the  fermentation  of  a pure 
solution  of  sugar.  It  is  manifest  to  any  one  who  has 
studied  such  fermentation  with  the  microscope,  even  in 
those  cases  where  the  sweetened  water  has  been  absolutely 
pure,  that  ferment-cells  do  multiply,  the  reason  being  that 
the  cells  carry  with  them  all  the  food-supplies  necessary 
for  the  life  of  the  ferment.  They  may  be  observed  bud- 
ding, at  least  many  of  them,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  those  which  do  not  bud  still  continue  to  live;  life  has 
other  ways  of  manifesting  itself  besides  development  and 
cell-proliferation. 

If  we  refer  to  the  figures  on  page  81  of  our  Memoir  of 
i860,  Experiments  D,  E,  F,  H,  I,  we  shall  see  that  the 
weight  of  yeast,  in  the  case  of  the  fermentation  of  a pure 
solution  of  sugar,  undergoes  a considerable  increase,  even 
without  taking  into  account  the  fact  that  the  sugared 
water  gains  from  the  yeast  certain  soluble  parts,  since  in 
the  experiments  just  mentioned,  the  weights  of  solid  yeast, 
washed  and  dried  at  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.),  are  much  greater 
than  those  of  the  raw  yeast  employed,  dried  at  the  same 
temperature. 

In  these  experiments  we  employed  the  following  weights 
of  yeast,  expressed  in  grammes  (1  gramme=i5.43  grains): 

(1)  2.313 

(2)  2.626 

(3)  1-198 

(4)  0.699 

(s)  0.326 

(6)  0.476 

which  became,  after  fermentation,  we  repeat,  without 
taking  into  account  the  matters  which  the  sugared  water 
gained  from  the  yeast: 


(1) 

2.486 

grammes. 

Increase  0.173  = 

grams. 

2.65 

(2) 

2.963 

0-337  = 

5-i6 

(3) 

1.700 

“ 0.502  = 

7-7 

(4) 

0.712 

“ 0.013  = 

0.2 

(5) 

0.335 

“ 0.009  = 

0.14 

(6) 

0.590 

“ 0.114  = 

i-75 

Have  we  not  in  this  marked  increase  in  weight  a proof 
of  life,  or,  to  adopt  an  expression  which  may  be  preferred, 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


365 


a proof  of  a profound  chemical  work  of  nutrition  and  as- 
similation ? 

We  may  cite  on  this  subject  one  of  our  earlier  experi- 
ments, which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de 
I’Academie  for  the  year  1857,  and  which  clearly  shows  the 
great  influence  exerted  on  fermentation  by  the  soluble  por- 
tion that  the  sugared  water  takes  up  from  the  globules  of 
ferment : 

“We  take  two  equal  quantities  of  fresh  yeast  that  have 
been  washed  very  freely.  One  of  these  we  cause  to  fer- 
ment in  water  containing  nothing  but  sugar,  and,  after  re- 
moving from  the  other  all  its  soluble  particles — by  boiling 
it  in  an  excess  of  water  and  then  filtering  it  to  separate  the 
globules — we  add  to  the  filtered  liquid  as  much  sugar  as 
was  used  in  the  first  case  along  with  a mere  trace  of  fresh 
yeast  insufficient,  as  far  as  its  weight  is  concerned,  to  affect 
the  results  of  our  experiment.  The  globules  which  we  have 
sown  bud,  the  liquid  becomes  turbid,  a deposit  of  yeast 
gradually  forms,  and,  side  by  side  with  these  appearances, 
the  decomposition  of  the  sugar  is  effected,  and  in  the  course 
of  a few  hours  manifests  itself  clearly.  These  results  are 
such  as  we  might  have  anticipated.  The  following  fact, 
however,  is  of  importance.  In  effecting  by  these  means  the 
organization  into  globules  of  the  soluble  part  of  the  yeast 
that  we  used  in  the  second  case,  we  find  that  a considera- 
ble quantity  of  sugar  is  decomposed.  The  following  are 
the  results  of  our  experiment;  5 grammes  of  yeast  caused 
the  fermentation  of  12.9  grammes  of  sugar  in  six  days,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  it  was  exhausted.  The  soluble  por- 
tion of  a like  quantity  of  5 grammes  of  the  same  yeast 
caused  the  fermentation  of  10  grammes  of  sugar  in  nine 
days,  after  which  the  yeast  developed  by  the  sowing  was 
likewise  exhausted.” 

How  is  it  possible  to  maintain  that,  in  the  fermentation 
of  water  containing  nothing  but  sugar,  the  soluble  portion 
of  the  yeast  does  not  act,  either  in  the  production  of  new 
globules  or  the  perfection  of  old  ones,  when  we  see,  in  the 
preceding  experiment,  that  after  this  nitrogenous  and  min- 
eral portion  has  been  removed  by  boiling,  it  immediately 
serves  for  the  production  of  new  globules*  which,  under 


366 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  influence  of  the  sowing  of  a mere  trace  of  globules, 
causes  the  fermentation  of  so  much  sugar?2 

In  short,  Liebig  is  not  justified  in  saying  that  the  solu- 
tion of  pure  sugar,  caused  to  ferment  by  means  of  yeast, 
contains  none  of  the  elements  needed  for  the  growth  of 
yeast,  neither  nitrogen,  sulphur  nor  phosphorus,  and  that, 
consequently,  it  should  not  be  possible,  by  our  theory,  for 
the  sugar  to  ferment.  On  the  contrary,  the  solution  does 
contain  all  these  elements,  as  a consequence  of  the  intro- 
duction and  presence  of  the  yeast. 

Let  us  proceed  without  examination  of  Liebig’s  criti- 
cisms : 

“To  this,”  he  goes  on  to  say,  “must  be  added  the  decom- 
posing action  which  yeast  exercises  on  a great  number  of 
substances,  and  which  resembles  that  which  sugar  under- 
goes. I have  shown  that  malate  of  lime  ferments  readily 
enough  through  the  action  of  yeast,  and  that  it  splits  up 
into  three  other  calcareous  salts,  namely,  the  acetate,  the 
carbonate  and  the  succinate.  If  the  action  of  yeast  consists 
in  its  increase  and  multiplication,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
this  action  in  the  case  of  malate  of  lime  and  other  cal- 
careous salts  of  vegetable  acids.” 

This  statement,  with  all  due  deference  to  the  opinion  of 
our  illustrious  critic,  is  by  no  means  correct.  Yeast  has  no 
action  on  malate  of  lime,  or  on  other  calcareous  salts  formed 
by  vegetable  acids.  Liebig  had  previously,  much  to  his  own 
satisfaction,  brought  forward  urea  as  being  capable  of  trans- 
formation into  carbonate  of  ammonia  during  alcoholic  fer- 
mentation in  contact  with  yeast.  This  has  been  proved  to 
be  erroneous.  It  is  an  error  of  the  same  kind  that  Liebig 
again  brings  forward  here.  In  the  fermentation  of  which 

3 It  is  important  that  we  should  here  remark  that,  in  the  fermentatipn 
of  pure  solution  of  sugar  by  means  of  yeast,  the  oxygen  originally  dis- 
solved in  the  water,  as  well  as  that  appropriated  by  the  globules  of  yeast 
in  their  contact  with  air,  has  a considerable  effect  on  the  activity  of  the 
fermentation.  As  a matter  of  fact,  if  we  pass  a strong  current  of  car- 
bonic acid  through  the  sugared  water  and  the  water  in  which  the  yeast 
has  been  treated,  the  fermentation  will  be  rendered  extremely  sluggish, 
and  the  few  new  cells  of  yeast  _ which  form  will  assume  strange  and 
abnormal  aspects.  Indeed  this  might  have  been  expected,  for  we  have 
seen  that  yeast,  when  somewhat  old,  is  incapable  of  development  or  of 
causing  fermentation  even  in  a fermentable  medium  containing_  all  the 
nutritive  principles  of  yeast  if  the  liquid  has  been  deprived  of  air;  much 
more  should  we  expect  this  to  be  the  case  in  pure  sugared  water,  likewise 
deprived  of  air. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


367 


he  speaks  (that  of  malate  of  lime),  certain  spontaneous  fer- 
ments are  produced,  the  germs  of  which  are  associated  with 
the  yeast,  and  develop  in  the  mixture  of  yeast  and  malate. 
The  yeast  merely  serves  as  a source  of  food  for  these  new 
ferments  without  taking  any  direct  part  in  the  fermentations 
of  which  we  are  speaking.  Our  researches  leave  no  doubt 
on  this  point,  as  is  evident  from  the  observations  on  the 
fermentation  of  tartrate  of  lime  previously  given. 

It  is  true  that  there  are  circumstances  under  which  yeast 
brings  about  modifications  in  different  substances.  Doeber- 
einer  and  Mitscherlich,  more  especially,  have  shown  that 
yeast  imparts  to  water  a soluble  material,  which  liquefies 
cane-sugar  and  produces  inversion  in  it  by  causing  it  to  take 
up  the  elements  of  water,  just  as  diastase  behaves  to  starch 
or  emulsin  to  amygdalin. 

M.  Berthelot  also  has  shown  that  this  substance  may  be 
isolated  by  precipitating  it  with  alcohol,  in  the  same  way  as 
diastase  is  precipitated  from  its  solutions.8  These  are 

3 Doebereiner,  Journal  de  Chimie  de  Schweigger,  vol.  xii.,  p.  129,  and 
Journal  de  Pharmacie,  vol.  i.,  p.  342. 

Mitscherlich,  Monatsberichte  d.  Kon.  Preuss.  Akad.  d.  IVissen,  zu  Ber- 
lin, and  Rapports  annuels  de  Berzelius,  Paris,  1843,  3rd  year.  On  the 
occasion  of  a communication  on  the  inversion  of  cane-sugar  by  H.  Rose, 
published  in  1840,  M.  Mitscherlich  observed:  “ The  inversion  of  cane-sugar 
in  alcoholic  fermentation  is  not  due  to  the  globules  of  yeast,  but  to  a 
soluble  matter  in  the  water  with  which  they  mix.  The  liquid  obtained  by 
straining  off  the  ferment  on  a filter  paper  possesses  the  property  of  con- 
verting cane-sugar  into  uncry stallizable  sugar.” 

Berthelot,  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcademie,  Meeting  of  May  28th,  i860, 
M.  Berthelot  confirms  the  preceding  experiment  of  Mitscherlich,  and  proves, 
moreover,  that  the  soluble  matter  of.  which  the  author  speaks  may  be  pre- 
cipitated with  alcohol  without  losing  its  invertive  power. 

M.  Bechamp  has  applied  Mitscherlich’s  observation,  concerning  the  solu- 
ble fermentative  part  of  yeast,  to  fungoid  growths,  and  has  made  the  inter- 
esting discovery  that  fungoid  growths,  like  yeast,  yield  to  water  a substance 
that  inverts  sugar.  When  the  production  of  fungoid  growths  is  prevented 
by  means  of  an  antiseptic,  the  inversion  of  sugar  does  not  take  place. 

We  may  here  say  a few  words  respecting  M.  Bechamp’s  claim  to  priority 
of  discovery.  It  is  a well-known  fact  that  we  were  the  first  to  demon- 
strate that  living  ferments  might  be  completely  developed  if  their  germs 
were  placed  in  pure  water  together  with  sugar,  ammonia,  and  phosphates. 
Relying  on  this  established  fact,  that  moulds  are  capable  of  development 
in  sweetened  water  in  which,  according  to  M.  Bechamp,  they  invert  the 
sugar,  our  author  asserts  that  he  has  proved  that  “ living  organized  fer- 
ments may  originate  in  media  which  contain  no  albuminous  substances.” 
(See  Comptes  rendus,  vol.  Ixxv.,  p.  1519.)  To  be  logical,  M.  Bechamp 
might  say  that  he  has  proved  that  certain  moulds  originate  in  pure 
sweetened  water  without  nitrogen  or  phosphates  or  other,  mineral  elements, 
for  such  a deduction  might  very  well  be  drawn  from  his  work,  in  .which 
I,  we  do  not  find  the  least  expression  of  astonishment  at  the  possibility  of 
! moulds  developing  in  pure  water  containing  nothing  but  sugar  without 
other  mineral  or  organic  principles. 

M.  Bechamp’s  first  note  on  the  inversion  of  sugar  was  published  in  1855. 
In  tt  we  find  nothing  relating  to  the  influence  of  moulds.  His  second,  in 


368 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


remarkable  facts,  which  are,  however,  at  present  but  vaguely 
connected  with  the  alcoholic  fermentation  of  sugar  by 
means  of  yeast.  The  researches  in  which  we  have  proved 
the  existence  of  special  forms  of  living  ferments  in  many 
fermentations,  which  one  might  have  supposed  to  have  been 
produced  by  simple  contact  action,  had  established  beyond 
doubt  the  existence  of  profound  differences  between  those 
fermentations,  which  we  have  distinguished  as  fermentations 
proper,  and  the  phenomena  connected  with  soluble  sub- 
stances. The  more  we  advance,  the  more  clearly  we  are 
able  to  detect  these  differences.  M.  Dumas  has  insisted  on 
the  fact  that  the  ferments  of  fermentation  proper  multiply 
and  reproduce  themselves  in  the  process  whilst  the  others 
are  destroyed.4  Still  more  recently  M.  Muntz  has  shown 
that  chloroform  prevents  fermentations  proper,  but  does  not 
interfere  with  the  action  of  diastase  ( Comptes  rendus,  1875) 
M.  Bouchardat  had  already  established  the  fact  that  hydro- 
cyanic acid,  salts  of  mercury,  ether,  alcohol,  creosote,  and 
the  oils  of  turpentine,  lemon,  cloves,  and  mustard  destroy  or 
check  alcoholic  fermentations,  whilst  in  no  way  interfering 
with  the  glucoside  fermentations  (Annales  de  Chimie  et  de 
Physique,  3rd  series,  t.  xiv.,  1845).  We  may  add  in  praise 
of  M.  Bouchardat’s  sagacity,  that  that  skilful  observer  has 
always  considered  these  results  as  a proof  that  alcoholic 
fermentation  is  dependent  on  the  life  of  the  yeast-cell,  and 
that  a distinction  should  be  made  between  the  two  orders  of 
fermentation. 


which  that  influence  is  noticed,  was  published  in  January,  1858,  that  is, 
subsequently  to  our  work  on  lactic  fermentation,  which  appeared  in  Novem- 
ber, 1857.  In  that  work  we  established  for  the  first  time  that  the  lactic 
ferment  is  a living,  organized  being,  that  albuminous  substances  have  no 
share  in  the  production  of  fermentation,  and  that  they  only  serve  as  the 
food  of  the  ferment.  M.  Bechamp’s  note  was  even  subsequent  to  our 
first  work_  on  alcoholic  fermentation,  which  appeared  on  December  21st, 
1857.  It  is  since  the  appearance  of  these  two  works  of  ours  that  the  pre- 
ponderating influence  of  the  life  of  microscopic  organism  in  the  phenomena 
of  fermentation  has  been  better  understood.  Immediately  after  their 
appearance  M.  Bechamp,  who  from  1855  had  made  no  observation  on  the 
action  of  fungoid  growths  on  sugar,  although  he  had  remarked  their 
presence,  modified  his  former  conclusions.  (Comptes  rendus,  January 
4th,  1858.) 

4 “ There  are  two  classes  of  ferments;  the  first,  of  which  the  yeast  of 
beer  may  be  taken  as  the  type,  perpetuate  and  renew  themselves  if  they 
can  find  in  the  liquid  in  which  they  produce^  fermentation  food  enough 
for  their  wants;  the  second,  of  which  diastase  is  the  type,  always  sacrifice 
themselves  in  the  exercise  of  their  activity.”  (Dumas,  Comptes  rendus  de 
I’Academie,  t.  lxxv.,  p.  277,  1872.) 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


369 


M.  Paul  Bert,  in  his  remarkable  studies  on  the  influence 
of  barometric  pressure  on  the  phenomena  of  life,  has  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  compressed  oxygen  is  fatal  to  certain 
ferments,  whilst  under  similar  conditions  it  does  not  inter- 
fere with  the  action  of  those  substances  classed  under  the 
name  of  soluble  ferments , such  as  diastase  (the  ferment 
which  inverts  cane  sugar)  emulsin  and  others.  During  their 
stay  in  compressed  air,  ferments  proper  ceased  their  activity, 
nor  did  they  resume  it,  even  after  exposure  to  air  at  ordinary 
pressures,  provided  the  access  of  germs  was  prevented. 

We  now  come  to  Liebig’s  principal  objection,  with  which 
he  concludes  his  ingenious  argument,  and  to  which  no  less 
than  eight  or  nine  pages  of  the  Annales  are  devoted. 

Our  author  takes  up  the  question  of  the  possibility  of 
causing  yeast  to  grow  in  sweetened  water,  to  which  a salt 
of  ammonia  and  some  yeast-ash  have  been  added — a fact 
which  is  evidently  incompatible  with  his  theory  that  a fer- 
ment is  always  an  albuminous  substance  on  its  way  to  decom- 
position. In  this  case  the  albuminous  substance  does  not 
exist;  we  have  only  the  mineral  substances  which  will  serve 
to  produce  it.  We  know' that  Liebig  regarded  yeast,  and, 
generally  speaking,  any  ferment  whatever,  as  being  a nitro- 
genous, albuminous  substance  which,  in  the  same  way  as 
emulsin,  for  example,  possesses  the  powrer  of  bringing  about 
certain  chemical  decompositions.  He  connected  fermentation 
with  the  easy  decomposition  of  that  albuminous  substance, 
and  imagined  that  the  phenomenon  occurred  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  “The  albuminous  substance  on  its  way  to 

decomposition  possesses  the  power  of  communicating  to  cer- 
tain other  bodies  that  same  state  of  mobility  by  which  its  own 
atoms  are  already  affected;  and  through  its  contact  with 
other  bodies  it  imparts  to  them  the  power  of  decomposing 
or  of  entering  into  other  combinations.”  Here  Liebig  failed 
to  perceive  that  the  ferment,  in  its  capacity  of  a living  organ- 
ism, had  anything  to  do  with  the  fermentation. 

This  theory  dates  back  as  far  as  1843.  1°  1846  Messrs. 

Boutron  and  Fremy,  in  a Memoir  on  lactic  fermentation, 
published  in  the  Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  strained 
the  conclusions  deducible  from  it  to  a most  unjustifiable 
extent.  They  asserted  that  one  and  the  same  nitrogenous 


370 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


substance  might  undergo  various  modifications  in  contact 
with  air,  so  as  to  become  successively  alcoholic,  lactic,  butyric, 
and  other  ferments.  There  is  nothing  more  convenient  than 
purely  hypothetical  theories,  theories  which  are  not  the 
necessary  consequences  of  facts;  when  fresh  facts  which 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  original  hypothesis  are  dis- 
covered, new  hypotheses  can  be  tacked  on  to  the  old  ones. 
This  is  exactly  what  Liebig  and  Fremy  have  done,  each  in  his 
turn,  under  the  pressure  of  our  studies,  commenced  in  1857. 
In  1864  Fremy  devised  the  theory  of  hemi-organism,  which 
1 meant  nothing  more  than  that  he  gave  up  Liebig’s  theory  of 
1843,  together  with  the  additions  which  Boutron  and  he  had 
made  to  it  in  1846;  in  other  words,  he  abandoned  the  idea  of 
albuminous  substances  being  ferments,  to  take  up  another 
idea,  that  albuminous  substances  in  contact  with  air  are  pe- 
culiarly adapted  to  undergo  organization  into  new  beings — 
that  is,  the  living  ferments  which  we  had  discovered — and 
that  the  ferments  of  beer  and  of  the  grape  have  a common 
origin. 

This  theory  of  hemi-organism  was  word  for  word  the 
antiquated  opinion  of  Turpin.  * * * The  public,  especially 
a certain  section  of  the  public  did  not  go  very  deeply  into 
an  examination  of  the  subject.  It  was  the  period  when  the 
doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation  was  being  discussed  with 
much  warmth.  The  new  word  hemi-organism,  which  was  the 
only  novelty  in  M.  Fremy’s  theory,  deceived  people.  It  was 
thought  that  M.  Fremy  had  really  discovered  the  solution 
of  the  question  of  the  day.  It  is  true  that  it  was  rather  dif- 
ficult to  understand  the  process  by  which  an  albuminous 
substance  could  become  all  at  once  a living  and  budding 
cell.  This  difficulty  was  solved  by  M.  Fremy,  who  declared 
that  it  was  the  result  of  some  power  that  was  not  yet  under- 
stood, the  power  of  “ organic  impulse.”5 

Liebig,  who,  as  well  as  M.  Fremy,  was  compelled  to 
renounce  his  original  opinions  concerning  the  nature  of  fer- 
‘ ments,  devised  the  following  obscure  theory  (Memoir  oy 
' Liebig,  1870,  already  cited)  : 

“ There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  part  which  the 
vegetable  organism  plays  in  the  phenomenon  of  fermentation. 
5 Fermy,  Comptes  rendus  de  I’Academie,  vol.  lviii.,  p.  1065,  1864. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


371 


It  is  through  it  alone  that  an  albuminous  substance  and  sugar 
are  enabled  to  unite  and  form  this  particular  combination, 
this' unstable  form  under  which  alone,  as  a component  part 
of  the  mycoderm,  they  manifest  an  action  on  sugar.  Should 
the  mycoderm  cease  to  grow,  the  bond  which  unites  the  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  cellular  contents  is  loosened,  and  it  is 
through  the  motion  produced  therein  that  the  cells  of  yeast 
bring  about  a disarrangement  or  separation  of  the  elements 
of  the  sugar  into  molecules.” 

One  might  easily  believe  that  the  translator  for  the 
Annales  has  made  some  mistake,  so  great  is  the  obscurity  of 
this  passage. 

Whether  we  take  this  new  form  of  the  theory  or  the  old 
one,  neither  can  be  reconciled  at  all  with  the  development 
of  yeast  and  fermentation  in  a saccharine  mineral  medium, 
for  in  the  latter  experiment  fermentation  is  correlative  to  the 
life  of  the  ferment  and  to  its  nutrition,  a constant  change 
going  on  between  the  ferment  and  its  food-matters,  since  all 
the  carbon  assimilated  by  the  ferment  is  derived  from  sugar, 
its  nitrogen  from  ammonia  and  phosphorus  from  the  phos- 
phates in  solution.  And  even  all  said,  what  purpose  can  be 
served  by  the  gratuitous  hypothesis  of  contact-action  or  com- 
municated motion?  The  experiment  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing is  thus  a fundamental  one ; indeed,  it  is  its  possibility 
that  constitutes  the  most  effective  point  in  the  controversy. 
No  doubt  Liebig  might  say,  “but  it  is  the  motion  of  life  and 
of  nutrition  which  constitutes  your  experiment,  and  this  is 
the  communicated  motion  that  my  theory  requires.”  Curi- 
ously enough,  Liebig  does  endeavour,  as  a matter  of  fact, 
to  say  this,  but  he  does  so  timidly  and  incidentally:  “From 
a chemical  point  of  view,  which  point  of  view  I would  not 
willingly  abandon,  a vital  action  is  a phenomenon  of  motion, 
and,  in  this  double  sense  of  life  M.  Pasteur’s  theory  agrees 
with  my  own,  and  is  not  in  contradiction  with  it  (page  6).” 
This  is  true.  Elsewhere  Liebig  says: 

“ It  is  possible  that  the  only  correlation  between  the  physi- 
ological act  and  the  phenomenon  of  fermentation  is  the  pro- 
duction, in  the  living  cell,  of  the  substance  which,  by  some 
special  property  analogous  to  that  by  which  emulsin  exerts 
a decomposing  action  on  salicin  and  amygdalin,  may  bring 


372 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


about  the  decomposition  of  sugar  into  other  organic  mole- 
cules ; the  physiological  act,  in  this  view,  would  be  necessary 
for  the  production  of  this  substance,  but  would  have  nothing 
else  to  do  with  the  fermentation  (page  io),”  To  this,  again, 
we  have  no  objection  to  raise. 

Liebig,  however,  does  not  dwell  upon  these  considerations, 
which  he  merely  notices  in  passing,  because  he  is  well  aware 
that,  as  far  as  the  defence  of  his  theory  is  concerned,  they 
would  be  mere  evasions.  If  he  had  insisted  on  them,  or 
based  his  opposition  solely  upon  them,  our  answer  would 
have  been  simply  this:  “If  you  do  not  admit  with  us  that 

fermentation  is  correlated  with  the  life  and  nutrition  of  the 
ferment,  we  agree  upon  the  principal  point.  So  agreeing, 
let  us  examine,  if  you  will,  the  actual  cause  of  fermentation; 
— this  is  a second  question,  quite  distinct  from  the  first. 
Science  is  built  up  of  successive  solutions  given  to  questions 
of  ever  increasing  subtlety,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer 
towards  the  very  essence  of  phenomena.  If  we  proceed  to 
discuss  together  the  question  of  how  living,  organized  beings 
act  in  decomposing  fermentable  substances,  we  will  be  found 
to  fall  out  once  more  on  your  hypothesis  of  communicated 
motion,  since  according  to  our  ideas,  the  actual  cause  of  fer- 
mentation is  to  be  sought,  in  most  cases,  in  the  fact  of  life 
without  air,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  many  ferments.” 

Let  us  briefly  see  what  Liebig  thinks  of  the  experiment  in 
which  fermentation  is  produced  by  the  impregnation  of  a 
saccharine  mineral  medium,  a result  so  greatly  at  variance 
with  his  mode  of  viewing  the  question.6  After  deep  consid- 
eration he  pronounces  this  experiment  to  be  inexact,  and  the 
result  ill-founded.  Liebig,  however,  was  not  one  to  reject 
a fact  without  grave  reasons  for  doing  so,  or  with  the  sole 
object  of  evading  a troublesome  discussion.  “ I have  repeated 
this  experiment,”  he  says,  “ a great  number  of  times,  with 
the  greatest  possible  care,  and  have  obtained  the  same  results 
as  M.  Pasteur,  excepting  as  regards  the  formation  and  in- 
crease of  the  ferment.”  It  was,  however,  the  formation  and 
increase  of  the  ferment  that  constituted  the  point  of  the 
experiment.  Our  discussion  was,  therefore,  distinctly  limited 

0 See  our  Memoir  of  i860  ( Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  _vol.  Iviii., 
p.  61,  and  following,  especially  pp.  69  and  70,  where  the  details  of  the 
experiment  will  be  found). 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


373 


to  this:  Liebig  denied  that  the  ferment  was  capable  of  de- 
velopment in  a saccharine  mineral  medium,  whilst  we  assert- 
ed that  this  development  did  actually  take  place,  and  was 
comparatively  easy  to  prove.  In  1871  we  replied  to  M.  Lie- 
big before  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences  in  a Note,  in 
which  we  offered  to  prepare  in  a mineral  medium,  in  the 
presence  of  a commission  to  be  chosen  for  the  purpose,  as 
great  a weight  of  ferment  as  Liebig  could  reasonably  de- 
mand.7 We  were  bolder  than  we  should,  perhaps,  have  been 
in  i860;  the  reason  was  that  our  knowledge  of  the  subject 
had  been  strengthened  by  ten  years  of  renewed  research. 
Liebig  did  not  accept  our  proposal,  nor  did  he  even  reply  to 
our  Note.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took  place  on 
April  18th,  1873,  he  wrote  nothing  more  on  the  subject.8 

When  we  published,  in  i860,  the  details  of  the  experiment 
in  question,  we  pointed  out  at  some  length  the  difficulties  of 
conducting  it  successfully,  and  the  possible  causes  of  failure. 
We  called  attention  particularly  to  the  fact  that  saccharine 
mineral  media  are  much  more  suited  for  the  nutrition  of 
bacteria,  lactic  ferment,  and  other  lowly  forms,  than  they 
are  to  that  of  yeast,  and  in  consequence  readily  become  filled 
with  various  organisms  from  the  spontaneous  growth  of 
germs  derived  from  the  particles  of  dust  floating  in  the 
atmosphere.  The  reason  why  we  do  not  observe  the  growth 
of  alcoholic  ferments,  especially  at  the  commencement  of  the 
experiments,  is  because  of  the  unsuitableness  of  those  media 
for  the  life  of  yeast.  The  latter  may,  nevertheless,  form  in 
them  subsequent  to  this  development  of  other  organized 
forms,  by  reason  of  the  modification  produced  in  the  original 

7 Pasteur,  Comptes  rendus  de  l’ Academie  des  Sciences,  vol.  lxxiii., 
p.  1419,  1871. 

8 In  his  Memoir  of  1870,  Liebig  made  a remarkable  admission:  “My 
late  friend  Pelouze,”  he  says,  “ had  communicated  to  me  nine  years  ago 
certain  results  of  M.  Pasteur’s  researches  on  fermentation.  I told  him 
that  just  then  I was  not  disposed  to  alter  my  opinion  on  the  cause  of 
fermentation,  and  that  if  it  were  possible,  by  means  of  ammonia,  to  pro- 
duce or  multiply  the  yeast  in  fermenting  liquors,  industry  _ would  soon 
avail  itself  of  the  fact,  and  that  I would  wait  to  see  if  it  did  so;  up  to 
the  present  time,  however,  there  had  not  been  the  least  change  in  the 
manufacture  of  yeast.”  We  do  not  know  what  M.  Pelouze’s  reply  was; 
but  it  is  not  difficult  to  conceive  so  sagacious  an  observer  remarking  to 
his  illustrious  friend  that  the  possibility  of  deriving  pecuniary  advantage 
from  the  wide  application  of  a new  scientific  fact  had  never  been  regarded 
as  the  criterion  of  the  exactness  of  that  fact.  We  could  prove,  moreover, 
by  the  undoubted  testimony  of  very  distinguished  practical  men,  notably 
by  that  of  M.  Pezeyre,  director  of  distilleries,  that  upon  this  point  also 
Liebig  was  mistaken. 


374 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


mineral  medium  by  the  albuminous  matters  that  they  intro- 
duce into  it.  It  is  interesting  to  peruse,  in  our  Memoir  of, 
i860,  certain  facts  of  the  same  kind  relating  to  fermentation 
by  means  of  albumens — that  of  the  blood  for  example,  from 
which,  we  may  mention  incidentally,  we  were  led  to  infer  the 
existence  of  several  distinct  albumens  in  the  serum,  a con- 
clusion which,  since  then,  has  been  confirmed  by  various 
observers,  notably  by  M.  Bechamp.  Now,  in  his  experiments 
on  fermentation  in  sweetened  water,  with  yeast-ash  and  a 
salt  of  ammonia,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Liebig  had  failed  to 
avoid  those  difficulties  which  are  entailed  by  the  spontaneous 
growth  of  other  organisms  than  yeast.  Moreover,  it  is  pos- 
sible that,  to  have  established  the  certainty  of  this  result, 
Liebig  should  have  had  recourse  to  a closer  microscopical 
observation  than  from  certain  passages  in  his  Memoir  he 
seems  to  have  adopted.  We  have  little  doubt  that  his  pupils 
could  tell  us  that  Liebig  did  not  even  employ  that  instrument 
without  which  any  exact  study  of  fermentation  is  not  merely 
difficult  but  well-nigh  impossible.  We  ourselves,  for  the  rea- 
sons mentioned,  did  not  obtain  a simple  alcoholic  fermenta- 
tion any  more  than  Liebig  did.  In  that  particular  experiment, 
the  details  of  which  we  gave  in  our  Memoir  of  i860,  we 
obtained  lactic  and  alcoholic  fermentation  together ; an  appre- 
ciable quantity  of  lactic  acid  formed  and  arrested  the  propa- 
gation of  the  lactic  and  alcoholic  ferments,  so  that  more 
than  half  of  the  sugar  remained  in  the  liquid  without  fer- 
menting. This,  however,  in  no  way  detracted  from  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  conclusion  which  we  deduced  from  the  ex- 
periment, and  from  other  similar  ones ; it  might  even  be  said 
that,  from  a general  and  philosophical  point  of  view— which 
is  the  only  one  of  interest  here — the  result  was  doubly  satis- 
factory, inasmuch  as  we  demonstrated  that  mineral  media 
were  adapted  to  the  simultaneous  development  of  several 
organized  ferments  instead  of  only  one.  The  fortuitous  asso- 
cation  of  different  ferments  could  not  invalidate  the  conclu- 
sion that  all  the  nitrogen  of  the  cells  of  the  alcoholic  and  lac- 
tic ferments  was  derived  from  the  nitrogen  in  the  ammonia- 
cal  salts,  and  that  all  the  carbon  of  those  ferments  was  taken 
from  the  sugar,  since,  in  the  medium  employed  in  our  exper- 
iment, the  sugar  was  the  only  substance  that  contained  car- 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


375 


bon.  Liebig  carefully  abstained  from  noticing  this  fact, 
which  would  have  been  fatal  to  the  very  groundwork  of  his 
criticisms,  and  thought  that  he  was  keeping  up  the  appear- 
ance of  a grave  contradiction  by  arguing  that  we  had  never 
obtained  a simple  alcoholic  fermentation.  It  would  be  un- 
profitable to  dwell  longer  upon  the  subject  of  the  difficulties 
which  the  propagation  of  yeast  in  a saccharine  mineral 
medium  formerly  presented.  As  a matter  of  fact,  the  progress 
of  our  studies  has  imparted  to  the  question  an  aspect  very 
different  from  that  which  it  formerly  wore;  it  was  this  cir- 
cumstance which  emboldened  us  to  offer,  in  our  reply  to 
Liebig  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  1871,  to  prepare, 
in  a saccharine  mineral  medium;  in  the  presence  of  a com- 
mission to  be  appointed  by  our  opponent,  any  quantity  of  fer- 
ment that  he  might  require,  and  to  effect  the  fermentation  of 
any  weight  of  sugar  whatsoever. 

Our  knowdedge  of  the  facts  detailed  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter concerning  pure  ferments,  and  their  manipulation  in  the 
presence  of  pure  air,  enables  us  completely  to  disregard  those 
causes  of  embarrassment  that  result  from  the  fortuitous 
occurrence  of  the  germs  of  organisms  different  in  character 
from  the  ferments  introduced  by  the  air  or  from  the  sides 
of  vessels,  or  even  by  the  ferment  itself. 

Let  us  once  more  take  one  of  our  double-necked  flasks, 
which  we  will  suppose  is  capable  of  containing  three  or  four 
litres  (six  to  eight  pints). 

Let  us  put  into  it  the  following: 

Pure  distilled  water. 

Sugar  candy 200  grammes 

Bitartrate  of  potassium 1.0  “ 

“ “ ammonia 0.5  “ 

Sulphate  af  ammonia 1.5  “ 

Ash  of  yeast 1.5  “ 

(1  gramme  = 15.43  grains) 

Let  us  boil  the  mixture,  to  destroy  all  germs  of  organisms 
that  may  exist  in  the  air  or  liquid  or  on  the  sides  of  the 
flask,  and  then  permit  it  to  cool,  after  having  placed,  by  way 
of  extra  precaution,  a small  quantity  of  asbestos  in  the  end 
of  the  fine  curved  tube.  Let  us  next  introduce  a trace  of  fer- 
ment into  the  liquid,  through  the  other  neck,  which,  as  we 


376 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


have  described,  is  terminated  by  a small  piece  of  india-rubber 
tube  closed  with  a glass  stopper. 

Here  are  the  details  of  such  an  experiment: — 

On  December  9th,  1873,  we  sowed  some  pure  ferment — 
saccharomyces  pastorianus.  From  December  11,  that  is, 
within  so  short  a time  as  forty-eight  hours  after  impregna- 
tion, we  saw  a multitude  of  extremely  minute  bubbles  rising 
almost  continuously  from  the  bottom,  indication  that  at  this 
point  the  fermentation  had  commenced.  On  the  follow- 
ing days,  several  patches  of  froth  appeared  on  the  surface 
of  the  liquid.  We  left  the  flask  undisturbed  in  the  oven,  at 
a temperature  of  250  C.  (770  F.)  On  April  24,  1874,  we 
tested  some  of  the  liquid,  obtained  by  means  of  the  straight 
tube,  to  see  if  it  still  contained  any  sugar.  We  found  that 
it  contained  less  than  two  grammes,  so  that  198  grammes 
(4.2  oz.  Troy)  had  already  disappeared.  Some  time  after- 
wards the  fermentation  came  to  an  end;  we  carried  on  the 
experiment,  nevertheless,  until  April  18,  1875. 

There  was  no  development  of  any  organism  absolutely 
foreign  to  the  ferment,  which  was  itself  abundant,  a 
circumstance  that,  added  to  the  persistent  vitality  of 
the  ferment,  in  spite  of  the  unsuitableness  of  the  me- 
dium for  its  nutrition,  permitted  the  perfect  completion 
of  fermentation.  There  was  not  the  minutest  quantity  of 
sugar  remaining.  The  total  weight  of  ferment,  after  wash- 
ing and  drying  at  ioo°  C.  (2120  F.),  was  2.563  grammes 
(39-5  grains). 

In  experiments  of  this  kind,  in  which  the  ferment  has  to 
be  weighed,  it  is  better  not  to  use  any  yeast-ash  that  cannot 
be  dissolved  completely,  so  as  to  be  capable  of  easy  separation 
from  the  ferment  formed.  Raulin’s  liquid3  may  be  used  in 
such  cases  with  success. 

All  the  alcoholic  ferments  are  not  capable  to  the  same 
extent  of  development  by  means  of  phosphates,  ammoniacal 
salts,  and  sugar.  There  are  some  whose  development  is  ar- 
rested a longer  or  shorter  time  before  the  transformation  of 
all  the  sugar.  In  a series  of  comparative  experiments, 
200  grammes  of  sugar-candy  being  used  in  each  case,  we 

9 M.  Jules  Raulin  has  published  a well-known  and  remarkable  work  on 
the  discovery  of  the  mineral  medium  best  adapted  by  its  composition  to 
the  life  of  certain  fungoid  growths;  he  has  given  a formula  for  the  com- 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


377 


found  that  whilst  saccharomyces  pastorianus  effected  a 
complete  fermentation  of  the  sugar,  the  caseous  ferment 
did  not  decompose  more  than  two-thirds,  and  the  ferment 
we  have  designated  new  “ high  ” ferment  not  more  than 
one-fifth : and  keeping  the  flasks  for  a longer  time  in  the 
oven  had  no  effect  in  increasing  the  proportions  of  sugar 
fermented  in  these  two  last  cases. 

We  conducted  a great  number  of  fermentations  in 
mineral  media,  in  consequence  of  a circumstance  which  it 
may  be  interesting  to  mention  here.  A person  who  was 
working  in  our  laboratory  asserted  that  the  success  of  our 
experiments  depended  upon  the  impurity  of  the  sugar- 
candy  which  we  employed,  and  that  if  this  sugar  had  been 
pure — much  purer  than  was  the  ordinary,  white,  commer- 
cial sugar-candy,  which  up  to  that  time  we  had  always 
used — the  ferment  could  not  have  multiplied.  The  per- 
sistent objections  of  our  friend,  and  our  desire  to  con- 
vince him,  caused  us  to  repeat  all  our  previous  experi- 
ments on  the  subject,  using  sugar  of  great  purity,  which 
had  been  specially  prepared  for  us,  with  the  utmost  care, 
by  a skilful  confectioner,  Seugnot.  The  result  only  con- 
firmed our  former  conclusions.  Even  this  did  not  satisfy 
our  obstinate  friend,  who  went  to  the  trouble  of  preparing 
some  pure  sugar  for  himself,  in  little  crystals,  by  repeated 
crystallizations  of  carefully  selected  commercial  sugar- 
candy;  he  then  repeated  our  experiments  himself.  This 
time  his  doubts  were  overcome.  It  even  happened  that  the 
fermentations  with  the  perfectly  pure  sugar  instead  of  being 
slow  were  very  active,  when  compared  with  those  which  we 
had  conducted  with  the  commercial  sugar-candy. 

position  of  such  a medium.  It  is  this  that  we  call  here  “ Haulin' s liquid  ” 


for  abbreviation. 

Water 1,500 

Sugar  candy 70 

Tartaric  acid 4 

Nitrate  of  ammonia 4 

Phosphate  of  ammonia 0.6 

Carbonate  of  potassium 0.6 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 0.4 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 0.25 

Sulphate  of  zinc 0.07 

Sulphate  of  iron 0.07 

Silicate  of  potassium 0.07 


— J.  Raulin,  Paris,  Victor  Masson,  1870,  These  pour  le  doctorat. 


378 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


We  may  here  add  a few  words  on  the  non-transformation 
of  yeast  into  penicillium  glaucum. 

If  at  any  time  during  fermentation  we  pour  off  the  fer- 
menting liquid,  the  deposit  of  yeast  remaining  in  the  ves- 
sel may  continue  there,  in  contact  with  air,  without  our 
ever  being  able  to  discover  the  least  formation  of 
penicillium  glaucum  in  it.  We  may  keep  a current  of  pure 
air  constantly  passing  through  the  flask;  the  experiment  will 
give  the  same  result.  Nevertheless,  this  is  a medium 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  development  of  this  mould,  in- 
asmuch as  if  we  were  to  introduce  merely  a few  spores  of 
penicillium  an  abundant  vegetation  of  that  growth  will 
afterwards  appear  on  the  deposit.  The  descriptions  of 
Messrs.  Turpin,  Hoffmann,  and  Trecul  have,  therefore, 
been  based  on  one  of  these  illusions  which  we  meet  with  so 
frequently  in  microscopical  observations. 

When  we  laid  these  facts  before  the  Academy,10  M. 
Trecul  professed  his  inability  to  comprehend  them:11  “Ac- 
cording to  M.  Pasteur,”  he  said,  “ the  yeast  of  beer  is  an- 
aerobian,  that  is  to  say,  it  lives  in  a liquid  deprived  of  free 
oxygen ; and  to  become  mycoderma  or  penicillium  it  is  above 
all  things  necessary  that  it  should  be  placed  in  air,  since, 
without  this,  as  the  name  signifies,  an  aerobian  being  can- 
not exist.  To  bring  about  the  transformation  of  the  yeast 
of  beer  into  mycoderma  cerevisiae  or  into  penicillium 
glaucum  we  must  accept  the  conditions  under  which  these 
two  forms  are  obtained.  If  M.  Pasteur  will  persist  in  keep- 
ing his  yeast  in  media  which  are  incompatible  with  the  de- 
sired modification,  it  is  clear  that  the  results  which  he  ob- 
tains must  always  be  negative.” 

Contrary  to  this  perfectly  gratuitous  assertion  of  M. 
Tread's  we  do  not  keep  our  yeast  in  media  which  are  cal- 
culated to  prevent  its  transformation  into  penicillium.  As 
we  have  just  seen,  the  principal  aim  and  object  of  our  ex- 
periment was  to  bring  this  minute  plant  into  contact  with 
air,  and  under  conditions  that  would  allow  the  penicillium 
to  develop  with  perfect  freedom.  We  conducted  our  ex- 
periments exactly  as  Turpin  and  Hoffmann  conducted  theirs, 

10  Pasteur,  Comptes  rendus  de  V Academie , vol.  lxxviii.,  pp.  213-216. 

11  Trecul,  Comptes  rendus  de  l’ Academie,  vol.  lxxviii.,  pp.  217,  218. 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


379 


and  exactly  as  they  stipulate  that  such  experiments  should 
be  conducted — with  the  one  sole  difference,  indispensable  to 
the  correctness  of  our  observations,  that  we  carefully 
guarded  ourselves  against  those  causes  of  error  which  they 
did  not  take  the  least  trouble  to  avoid.  It  is  possible  to 
produce  a ready  entrance  and  escape  of  pure  air  in  the  case 
of  the  double-necked  flasks  which  we  have  so  often  em- 
ployed in  the  course  of  this  work,  without  having  recourse 
to  the  continuous  passage  of  a current  of  air.  Having  made 
a file-mark  on  the  thin  curved  neck  at  a distance  of  two  or 
three  centimetres  (an  inch)  from  the  flask,  we  must  cut 
round  the  neck  at  this  point  with  a glazier’s  diamond,  and 
then  remove  it,  taking  care  tp  cover  the  opening  im- 
mediately with  a sheet  of  paper  which  has  been  passed 
through  the  flame,  and  which  we  must  fasten  with  a thread 
round  the  part  of  the  neck  still  left.  In  this  manner  we 
may  increase  or  prolong  the  fructification  of  fungoid 
growths,  or  the  life  of  the  aerobian  ferments  in  our 
flasks. 

What  we  have  said  of  penicillium  glaucum  will  apply 
equally  to  my  coderma  cerevisiae.  Notwithstanding  that 
Turpin  and  Trecul  may  assert  to  the  contrary,  yeast,  in 
contact  with  air  as  it  was  under  the  conditions  of  the 
experiment  just  described,  will  not  yield  my  co  derma 
vini  or  mycoderma  cerevisiae  any  more  than  it  will  peni- 
cillium. 

The  experiments  described  in  the  preceding  paragraphs 
on  the  increase  of  organized  ferments  in  mineral  media  of 
the  composition  described,  are  of  the  greatest  physiological 
interest.  Amongst  other  results,  they  show  that  all  the 
proteic  matter  of  ferments  may  be  produced  by  the  vital 
activity  of  the  cells,  which,  apart  altogether  from  the  in- 
fluence of  light  or  free  oxygen  (unless  indeed,  we  are  deal- 
ing with  aerobian  moulds  which  require  free  oxygen),  have 
the  power  of  developing  a chemical  activity  between  carbo- 
hydrates, ammoniacal  salts,  phosphates,  and  sulphates  of 
potassium  and  magnesium.  It  may  be  admitted  with  truth 
that  a similar  effect  obtains  in  the  case  of  the  higher  plants, 
so  that  in  the  existing  state  of  science  we  fail  to  conceive 
what  serious  reason  can  be  urged  against  our  considering 


380 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


this  effect  as  general.  It  would  be  perfectly  logical  to  ex- 
tend the  results  of  which  we  are  speaking  to  all  plants,  and 
to  believe  that  the  proteic  matter  of  vegetables,  and  per- 
haps of  animals  also,  is  formed  exclusively  by  the  activity 
of  the  cells  operating  upon  the  ammoniacal  and  other 
mineral  salts  of  the  sap  or  plasma  of  the  blood,  and  the 
carbo-hydrates,  the  formation  of  which,  in  the  case  of  the 
higher  plants,  requires  only  the  concurrence  of  the  chemical 
impulse  of  green  light. 

Viewed  in  this  manner,  the  formation  of  the  proteic 
substances,  would  be  independent  of  the  great  act  of  re- 
duction of  carbonic  acid  gas  under  the  influence  of  light. 
These  substances  would  not  be  built  up  from  the  elements 
of  water,  ammonia,  and  carbonic  acid  gas,  after  the  decom- 
position of  this  last;  they  would  be  formed  where  they  are 
found  in  the  cells  themselves,  by  some  process  of  union 
between  the  carbo-hydrates  imported  by  the  sap,  and  the 
phosphates  of  potassium  and  magnesium  and  salts  of  am- 
monia. Lastly,  in  vegetable  growth,  by  means  of  a carbo- 
hydrate and  a mineral  medium,  since  the  carbo-hydrate  is 
capable  of  many  variations,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to 
understand  how  it  could  be  split  up  into  its  elements  before 
serving  to  constitute  the  proteic  substances,  and  even  cel- 
lulose substances,  as  these  are  carbo-hydrates.  We  have 
commenced  certain  studies  in  this  direction. 

If  solar  radiation  is  indispensable  to  the  decomposition 
of  carbonic  acid  and  the  building  up  of  the  primary  sub- 
stances in  the  case  of  higher  vegetable  life,  it  is  still  pos- 
sible that  certain  inferior  organisms  may  do  without  it  and 
nevertheless  yield  the  most  complex  substances,  fatty  or 
carbo-hydrate,  such  as  cellulose,  various  organic  acids,  and 
proteic  matter;  not,  however,  by  borrowing  their  carbon 
from  the  carbonic  acid  which  is  saturated  with  oxygen,  but 
from  other  matters  still  capable  of  acquiring  oxygen,  and 
so  of  yielding  heat  in  the  process,  such  as  alcohol  and  acetic 
acid,  for  example,  to  cite  merely  carbon  compounds  most 
removed  from  organization.  As  these  last  compounds,  and 
a host  of  others  equally  adapted  to  serve  as  the  carbon- 
aceous food  of  mycoderms  and  the  mucedines,  may  be  pro- 
duced synthetically  by  means  of  carbon  and  the  vapour  of 


THEORY  OF  FERMENTATION 


381 


water,  after  the  methods  that  science  owes  to  Berthelot,  it 
follows  that,  in  the  case  of  certain  inferior  beings,  life 
would  be  possible  even  if  it  should  be  that  the  solar  light 
was  extinguished.12 

12  See  on  this  subject  the  verbal  observations  which  we  addressed  to  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  at  its  meetings  of  April  ioth  and  24th,  1876. 


THE  GERM  THEORY 
AND  ITS  APPLICATIONS  TO 
MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY1 

THE  Sciences  gain  by  mutual  support.  When,  as  the 
result  of  my  first  communications  on  the  fermenta- 
tions in  1857-1858,  it  appeared  that  the  ferments, 
properly  so-called,  are  living  beings,  that  the  germs  of 
microscopic  organisms  abound  in  the  surface  of  all  ob- 
jects, in  the  air  and  in  water;  that  the  theory  of  spontaneous 
generation  is  chimerical ; that  wines,  beer,  vinegar,  the 
blood,  urine  and  all  the  fluids  of  the  body  undergo  none 
of  their  usual  changes  in  pure  air,  both  Medicine  and 
Surgery  received  fresh  stimulation.  A French  physician, 
Dr.  Davaine,  was  fortunate  in  making  the  first  application 
of  these  principles  to  Medicine,  in  1863. 

Our  researches  of  last  year,  left  the  etiology  of  the  putrid 
disease,  or  septicemia,  in  a much  less  advanced  condition 
than  that  of  anthrax.  We  had  demonstrated  the  probability 
that  septicemia  depends  upon  the  presence  and  growth  of 
a microscopic  body,  but  the  absolute  proof  of  this  important 
conclusion  was  not  reached.  To  demonstrate  experimentally 
that  a microscopie  organism  actually  is  the  cause  of  a dis- 
ease and  the  agent  of  contagion,  I know  no  other  way,  in 
the  present  state  of  Science,  than  to  subject  the  microbe 
(the  new  and  happy  term  introduced  by  M.  Sedillot)  to  the 
method  of  cultivation  out  of  the  body.  It  may  be  noted 
that  in  twelve  successive  cultures,  each  one  of  only  ten 
cubic  centimeters  volume,  the  original  drop  will  be  diluted 
as  if  placed  in  a volume  of  fluid  equal  to  the  total  volume 

1 Read  before  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  April  29th,  1878.  Pub- 
lished in  Comptes  Rendus  de  I’Academie  des  Sciences,  lxxxvi.,  pp.  1037-43. 

382 


THE  GERM  THEORY 


383 


of  the  earth.  It  is  just  this  form  of  test  to  which  M. 
Joubert  and  I subjected  the  anthrax  bacteridium.2  Having 
cultivated  it  a great  number  of  times  in  a sterile  fluid, 
each  culture  being  started  with  a minute  drop  from  the 
preceding,  we  then  demonstrated  that  the  product  of  the 
last  culture  was  capable  of  further  development  and  of 
acting  in  the  animal  tissues  by  producing  anthrax  with  all 
its  symptoms.  Such  is — as  we  believe — the  indisputable 
proof  that  anthrax  is  a bacterial  disease. 

Our  researches  concerning  the  septic  vibrio  had  not  so 
far  been  convincing,  and  it  was  to  fill  up  this  gap  that 
we  resumed  our  experiments.  To  this  end,  we  attempted 
the  cultivation  of  the  septic  vibrio  from  an  animal  dead 
of  septicemia.  It  is  worth  noting  that  all  of  our  first  ex- 
periments failed,  despite  the  variety  of  culture  media  we 
employed — urine,  beer  yeast  water,  meat  water,  etc.  Our 
culture  media  were  not  sterile,  but  we  found — most  com- 
monly— a microscopic  organism  showing  no  relationship  to 
the  septic  vibrio,  and  presenting  the  form,  common  enough 
elsewhere,  of  chains  of  extremely  minute  spherical  granules 
possessed  of  no  virulence  whatever.3  This  was  an  impurity, 
introduced,  unknown  to  us,  at  the  same  time  as  the  septic 
vibrio ; and  the  germ  undoubtedly  passed  from  the  intestines 
— always  inflamed  and  distended  in  septicemic  animals — 
into  the  abdominal  fluids  from  which  we  took  our  original 
cultures  of  the  septic  vibrio.  If  this  explanation  of  the  con- 
tamination of  our  cultures  was  correct,  we  ought  to  find 
a pure  culture  of  the  septic  vibrio  in  the  heart’s  blood 
of  an  animal  recently  dead  of  septicemia.  This  was  what 
happened,  but  a new  difficulty  presented  itself ; all  our  cul- 
tures remained  sterile.  Furthermore  this  sterility  was  ac- 
companied by  loss  in  the  culture  media  of  (the  original) 
virulence. 

It  occurred  to  us  that  the  septic  vibrio  might  be  an 
obligatory  anaerobe  and  that  the  sterility  of  our  inoculated 
culture  fluids  might  be  due  to  the  destruction  of  the  septic 


2 In  making  the  translation,  it  seems  wiser  to  adhere  to  Pasteur’s  nomen- 
clature. Bacillus  anthracis  would  be  the  term  employed  to-day. — Translator. 

3 It  is  quite  possible  that  Pasteur  was  here  dealing  with  certain  septicemic 
streptococci  that  are  now  known  to  lose  their  virulence  with  extreme  rapid* 
ity  under  artificial  cultivation. — Translator. 


384 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


vibrio  by  the  atmospheric  oxygen  dissolved  in  the  fluids. 
The  Academy  may  remember  that  I have  previously  demon- 
strated facts  of  this  nature  in  regard  to  the  vibrio  of  butyric 
fermentation,  which  not  only  lives  without  air  but  is  killed 
by  the  air. 

It  was  necessary  therefore  to  attempt  to  cultivate  the 
septic  vibrio  either  in  a vacuum  or  in  the  presence  of  inert 
gases — such  as  carbonic  acid. 

Results  justified  our  attempt;  the  septic  vibrio  grew  easily 
in  a complete  vacuum,  and  no  less  easily  in  the  presence 
of  pure  carbonic  acid. 

These  results  have  a necessary  corollary.  If  a fluid  con- 
taining septic  vibrios  be  exposed  to  pure  air,  the  vibrios 
should  be  killed  and  all  virulence  should  disappear.  This 
is  actually  the  case.  If  some  drops  of  septic  serum  be 
spread  horizontally  in  a tube  and  in  a very  thin  layer,  the 
fluid  will  become  absolutely  harmless  in  less  than  half  a 
day,  even  if  at  first  it  was  so  virulent  as  to  produce  death 
upon  the  inoculation  of  the  smallest  portion  of  a drop. 

Furthermore  all  the  vibrios,  which  crowded  the  liquid 
as  motile  threads,  are  destroyed  and  disappear.  After 
the  action  of  the  air,  only  fine  amorphous  granules  can  be 
found,  unfit  for  culture  as  well  as  for  the  transmission 
of  any  disease  whatever.  It  might  be  said  that  the  air 
burned  the  vibrios. 

If  it  is  a terrifying  thought  that  life  is  at  the  mercy 
of  the  multiplication  of  these  minute  bodies,  it  is  a con- 
soling hope  that  Science  will  not  always  remain  powerless 
before  such  enemies,  since  for  example  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  study  we  find  that  simple  exposure  to  air 
is  sufficient  at  times  to  destroy  them. 

But,  if  oxygen  destroys  the  vibrios,  how  can  septicemia 
exist,  since  atmospheric  air  is  present  everywhere?  How 
can  such  facts  be  brought  in  accord  with  the  germ  theory? 
How  can  blood,  exposed  to  air,  become  septic  through 
the  dust  the  air  contains? 

All  things  are  hidden,  obscure  and  debatable  if  the  cause 
of  the  phenomena  be  unknown,  but  everything  is  clear 
if  this  cause  be  known.  What  we  have  just  said  is  true 
only  of  a septic  fluid  containing  adult  vibrios,  in  active 


THE  GERM  THEORY 


385 


development  by  fission : conditions  are  different  when  the 
vibrios  are  transformed  into  their  germs,4  that  is  into  the 
glistening  corpuscles  first  described  and  figured  in  my  studies 
on  silk-worm  disease,  in  dealing  with  worms  dead  of  the 
disease  called  “ flacherie.”  Only  the  adult  vibrios  disap- 
pear, burn  up,  and  lose  their  virulence  in  contact  with 
air:  the  germ  corpuscles,  under  these  conditions,  remain 
always  ready  for  new  cultures,  and  for  new  inoculations. 

All  this  however  does  not  do  away  with  the  difficulty 
of  understanding  how  septic  germs  can  exist  on  the  surface 
of  objects,  floating  in  the  air  and  in  water. 

Where  can  these  corpuscles  originate  ? Nothing  is  easier 
than  the  production  of  these  germs,  in  spite  of  the  presence 
of  air  in  contact  with  septic  fluids. 

If  abdominal  serous  exudate  containing  septic  vibrios 
actively  growing  by  fission  be  exposed  to  the  air,  as  we 
suggested  above,  but  with  the  precaution  of  giving  a sub- 
stantial thickness  to  the  layer,  even  if  only  one  centimeter 
be  used,  this  curious  phenomenon  will  appear  in  a few 
hours.  The  oxygen  is  absorbed  in  the  upper  layers  of 
the  fluid — as  is  indicated  by  the  change  of  color.  Here  the 
vibrios  are  dead  and  disappear.  In  the  deeper  layers,  on 
the  other  hand,  towards  the  bottom  of  this  centimeter  of 
septic  fluid  we  suppose  to  be  under  observation,  the  vibrios 
continue  to  multiply  by  fission — protected  from  the  action 
of  oxygen  by  those  that  have  perished  above  them:  little 
by  little  they  pass  over  to  the  condition  of  germ  corpus- 
cles with  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  thread  forms. 
So  that  instead  of  moving  threads  of  varying  length,  some- 
times greater  than  the  field  of  the  microscope,  there  is  to 
be  seen  only  a number  of  glittering  points,  lying  free  or 
surrounded  by  a scarcely  perceptible  amorphous  mass.6 
Thus  is  formed,  containing  the  latent  germ  life,  no  longer 
in  danger  from  the  destructive  action  of  oxygen,  thus,  I 

4 By  the  terms  “ germ  ” and  “ germ  corpuscles,”  Pasteur  undoubtedly 
means  “ spores,”  but  the  change  is  not  made,  in  accordance  with  note  2, 
above. — T ranslator. 

5 In  our  note  of  July  16th,  1877,  it  is  stated  that  the  septic  vibrio  is  not 
destroyed  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air  nor  by  oxygen  at  high  tension,  but  that 
under  these  conditions  it  is  transformed  into  germ-corpuscles.  This  is, 
however,  an  incorrect  interpretation  of  facts.  The  vibrio  is  destroyed  by 
oxygen,  and  it  is  only  where  it  is  in  a thick  layer  that  it  is  transformed  to 
germ-corpuscles  in  the  presence  of  oxygen  and  that  its  virulence  is  preserved. 

(13)  HC  XXXVIII 


383 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


repeat,  is  formed  the  septic  dust,  and  we  are  able  to  under- 
stand what  has  before  seemed  so  obscure ; we  can  see  how 
putrescible  fluids  can  be  inoculated  by  the  dust  of  the  air, 
and  how  it  is  that  putrid  diseases  are  permanent  in  the 
world. 

The  Academy  will  permit  me,  before  leaving  these  in- 
teresting results,  to  refer  to  one  of  their  main  theoretical 
consequences.  At  the  very  beginning  of  these  researches, 
for  they  reveal  an  entirely  new  field,  what  must  be  insistently 
demanded?  The  absolute  proof  that  there  actually  exist 
transmissible,  contagious,  infectious  diseases  of  which  the 
cause  lies  essentially  and  solely  in  the  presence  of  micro- 
scopic organisms.  The  proof  that  for  at  least  some  dis- 
eases, the  conception  of  spontaneous  virulence  must  be  for- 
ever abandoned — as  well  as  the  idea  of  contagion  and  an 
infectious  element  suddenly  originating  in  the  bodies  of 
men  or  animals  and  able  to  originate  diseases  which  propa- 
gate themselves  under  identical  forms : and  all  of  those 
opinions  fatal  to  medical  progress,  which  have  given  rise 
to  the  gratuitous  hypotheses  of  spontaneous  generation, 
of  albuminoid  ferments,  of  hemiorganisms,  of  archebiosis, 
and  many  other  conceptions  without  the  least  basis  in  obser- 
vation. What  is  to  be  sought  for  in  this  instance  is  the  proof 
that  along  with  our  vibrio  there  does  not  exist  an  independent 
virulence  belonging  to  the  surrounding  fluids  or  solids, 
in  short  that  the  vibrio  is  not  merely  an  epiphenomenon 
of  the  disease  of  which  it  is  the  obligatory  accompaniment. 
What  then  do  we  see,  in  the  results  that  I have  just  brought 
out?  A septic  fluid,  taken  at  the  moment  that  the  vibrios 
are  not  yet  changed  into  germs,  loses  its  virulence  com- 
pletely upon  simple  exposure  to  the  air,  but  preserves  this 
virulence,  although  exposed  to  air  on  the  simple  condition 
of  being  in  a thick  layer  for  some  hours.  In  the  first 
case,  the  virulence  once  lost  by  exposure  to  air,  the  liquid 
is  incapable  of  taking  it  on  again  upon  cultivation : but, 
in  the  second  case,  it  preserves  its  virulence  and  can  propa- 
gate, even  after  exposure  to  air.  It  is  impossible,  then,  to 
assert  that  there  is  a separate  virulent  substance,  either 
fluid  or  solid,  existing,  apart  from  the  adult  vibrio  or  its 
germ.  Nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  there  is  a virus  which 


THE  GERM  THEORY 


387 


loses  its  virulence  at  the  moment  that  the  adult  vibrio 
dies ; for  such  a substance  should  also  lose  its  virulence 
when  the  vibrios,  changed  to  germs,  are  exposed  to  the 
air.  Since  the  virulence  persists  under  these  conditions  it 
can  only  be  due  to  the  germ  corpuscles — the  only  thing 
present.  There  is  only  one  possible  hypothesis  as  to  the 
existence  of  a virus  in  solution,  and  that  is  that  such  a 
substance,  which  was  present  in  our  experiment  in  non- 
fatal  amounts,  should  be  continuously  furnished  by  the 
vibrio  itself,  during  its  growth  in  the  body  of  the  living 
animal.  But  it  is  of  little  importance  since  the  hypothesis 
supposes  the  forming  and  necessary  existence  of  the 
vibrio.6 

I hasten  to  touch  upon  another  series  of  observations 
which  are  even  more  deserving  the  attention  of  the  surgeon 
than  the  preceding:  I desire  to  speak  of  the  effects  of  our 
microbe  of  pus  when  associated  with  the  septic  vibrio.  There 
is  nothing  more  easy  to  superpose-^-as  it  were— two  dis- 
tinct diseases  and  to  produce  what  might  be  called  a septi- 
cemic purulent  infection,  or  a purulent  septicemia.  Whilst 
the  microbe-producing  pus,  when  acting  alone,  gives  rise  to  a 
thick  pus,  white,  or  sometimes  with  a yellow  or  bluish  tint, 
not  putrid,  diffused  or  enclosed  by  the  so-called  pyogenic 
membrane,  not  dangerous,  especially  if  localized  in  cellular 
tissue,  ready,  if  the  expression  may  be  used  for  rapid  re- 
sorption ; on  the  other  hand  the  smallest  abscess  produced 
by  this  organism  when  associated  with  the  septic  vibrio 
takes  on  a thick  gangrenous  appearance,  putrid,  greenish 
and  infiltrating  the  softened  tissues.  In  this  case  the  mi- 
crobe of  pus  carried  So  to  speak  by  the  septic  vibrio,  ac- 
companies it  throughout  the  body : the  highly-inflamed  mus- 
cular tissues,  full  of  serous  fluid,  showing  also  globules  of 
pus  here  and  there,  are  like  a kneading  of  the  two 
organisms. 

By  a similar  procedure  the  effects  of  the  anthrax  bac- 
teridium  and  the  microbe  of  pus  may  be  combined  and  the 
two  diseases  may  be  superposed,  so  as  to  obtain  a purulent 
anthrax  or  an  anthracoid  purulent  infection.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  exaggerate  the  predominance  of  the  new  mi- 

6 The  regular  limits,  oblige  me  to  omit  a portion  of  my  speech. 


388 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


crobe  over  the  bacteridium.  If  the  microbe  be  associated 
with  the  latter  in  sufficient  amount  it  may  crowd  it  out 
completely — prevent  it  from  growing  in  the  body  at  all. 
Anthrax  does  not  appear,  and  the  infection,  entirely  local, 
becomes  merely  an  abscess  whose  cure  is  easy.  The  mi- 
crobe-producing pus  and  the  septic  vibrio  (not)7  being  both 
anaerobes,  as  we  have  demonstrated,  it  is  evident  that 
the  latter  will  not  much  disturb  its  neighbor.  Nutrient 
substances,  fluid  or  solid,  can  scarcely  be  deficient  in  the  tis- 
sues from  such  minute  organisms.  But  the  anthrax  bacteri- 
dium is  exclusively  aerobic,  and  the  proportion  of  oxygen 
is  far  from  being  equally  distributed  throughout  the  tissues : 
innumerable  conditions  can  diminish  or  exhaust  the  supply 
here  and  there,  and  since  the  microbe-producing  pus  is 
also  aerobic,  it  can  be  understood  how,  by  using  a quan- 
tity slightly  greater  than  that  of  the  bacteridium  it  might 
easily  deprive  the  latter  of  the  oxygen  necessary  for  it. 
But  the  explanation  of  the  fact  is  of  little  importance: 
it  is  certain  that  under  some  conditions  the  microbe  we 
are  speaking  of  entirely  prevents  the  development  of  the 
bacteridium. 

Summarizing — it  appears  from  the  preceding  facts  that 
it  is  possible  to  produce  at  will,  purulent  infections  with  no 
elements  of  putrescence,  putrescent  purulent  infections,  an- 
thracoid  purulent  infections,  and  finally  combinations  of 
these  types  of  lesions  varying  according  to  the  proportions 
of  the  mixtures  of  the  specific  organisms  made  to  act  on 
the  living  tissues. 

These  are  the  principal  facts  I have  to  communicate  to 
the  Academy  in  my  name  and  in  the  names  of  my  collabora- 
tors, Messrs.  Joubert  and  Chamberland.  Some  weeks  ago 
(Session  of  the  nth  of  March  last)  a member  of  the  Sec- 
tion of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  M.  Sedillot,  after  long  medi- 
tation on  the  lessons  of  a brilliant  career,  did  not  hesitate 
to  assert  that  the  successes  as  well  as  the  failures  of  Sur- 
gery find  a rational  explanation  in  the  principles  upon 
which  the  germ  theory  is  based,  and  that  this  theory  would 


7 There  is  undoubtedly  a mistake  in  the  original.  Pasteur  could  not  have 
meant  to  say  that  both  bacteria  are  anaerobes.  The  word  “ not  ” is  intro- 
duced to  correct  the  error. — Translator. 


THE  GERM  THEORY 


389 


found  a new  Surgery — already  begun  by  a celebrated  En- 
glish surgeon,  Dr.  Lister,8  who  was  among  the  first  to  under- 
stand its  fertility.  With  no  professional  authority,  but  with 
the  conviction  of  a trained  experimenter,  I venture  here  to 
repeat  the  words  of  an  eminent  confrere. 


See  Lord  Lister’s  paper  in  the  present  volume. — Ed. 


ON  THE  EXTENSION  OF 
THE  GERM  THEORY 

TO  THE  ETIOLOGY  OF  CERTAIN 
COMMON  DISEASES' 

WHEN  I began  the  studies  now  occupying  my  atten- 
tion,2 I was  attempting  to  extend  the  germ  theory 
to  certain  common  diseases.  I do  not  know  when 
I can  return  to  that  work.  Therefore  in  my  desire  to  see 
it  carried  on  by  others,  I take  the  liberty  of  presenting  it  to 
the  public  in  its  present  condition. 

I.  Furuncles.  In  May,  1879,  one  of  the  workers  in  my 
laboratory  had  a number  of  furuncles,  appearing  at  short 
intervals,  sometimes  on  one  part  of  the  body  and  sometimes 
on  another.  Constantly  impressed  with  the  thought  of  the 
immense  part  played  by  microscopic  organisms  in  Nature, 
I queried  whether  the  pus  in  the  furuncles  might  not  con- 
tain one  of  these  organisms  whose  presence,  development, 
and  chance  transportation  here  and  there  in  the  tissues 
after  entrance  would  produce  a local  inflammation,  and 
pus  formation,  and  might  explain  the  recurrence  of  the  ill- 
ness during  a longer  or  shorter  time.  It  was  easy  enough 
to  subject  this  thought  to  the  test  of  experiment. 

First  observation. — On  June  second,  a puncture  was  made 
at  the  base  of  the  small  cone  of  pus  at  the  apex  of  a fu- 
runcle on  the  nape  of  the  neck.  The  fluid  obtained  was  at 
once  sowed  in  the  presence  of  pure  air — of  course  with  the 
precautions  necessary  to  exclude  any  foreign  germs,  either 
at  the  moment  of  puncture,  at  the  moment  of  sowing  in  the 
culture  fluid,  or  during  the  stay  in  the  oven,  which  was 

1 Read  before  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  May  3,  1880.  Published 
in  Comptes  rendus  de  l’ Academie  des  Sciences,  xc.,  pp.  1033-44. 

2 In  1880.  Especially  engaged  in  the  study  of  chicken  cholera  and  the 
attenuation  of  virulence. — Translator. 

390 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


391 


kept  at  the  constant  temperature  of  about  35  ° C.  The  next 
day,  the  culture  fluid  had  become  cloudy  and  contained  a 
single  organism,  consisting  of  small  spherical  points  ar- 
ranged in  pairs,  sometimes  in  fours,  but  often  in  irregular 
masses.  Two  fluids  were  preferred  in  these  experiments — 
chicken  and  yeast  bouillon.  According  as  one  or  the  other 
was  used,  appearances  varied  a little.  These  should  be  de- 
scribed. With  the  yeast  water,  the  pairs  of  minute  granules 
are  distributed  throughout  the  liquid,  which  is  uniformly 
clouded.  But  with  the  chicken  bouillon,  the  granules  are 
collected  in  little  masses  which  line  the  walls  and  bottom 
of  the  flasks  while  the  body  of  the  fluid  remains  clear,  un- 
less it  be  shaken:  in  this  case  it  becomes  uniformly  clouded 
by  the  breaking  up  of  the  small  masses  from  the  walls  of 
the  flasks. 

Second  observation. — On  the  tenth  of  June  a new  fu- 
runcle made  its  appearance  on  the  right  thigh  of  the  same 
person.  Pus  could  not  yet  be  seen  under  the  skin,  but  this 
was  already  thickened  and  red  over  a surface  the  size  of 
a franc.  The  inflamed  part  was  washed  with  alcohol,  and 
dried  with  blotting  paper  passed  through  the  flame  of  an 
alcohol  lamp.  A puncture  at  the  thickened  portion  enabled 
us  to  secure  a small  amount  of  lymph  mixed  with  blood, 
which  was  sowed  at  the  same  time  as  some  blood  taken 
from  the  finger  of  the  hand.  The  following  days,  the 
blood  from  the  finger  remained  absolutely  sterile : but  that 
obtained  from  the  center  of  the  forming  furuncle  gave  an 
abundant  growth  of  the  same  small  organism  as  before. 

Third  observation. — The  fourteenth  of  June,  a new  fu- 
runcle appeared  on  the  neck  of  the  same  person.  The  same 
examination,  the  same  result,  that  is  to  say  the  develop- 
ment of  the  microscopic  organism  previously  described  and 
complete  sterility  of  the  blood  of  the  general  circulation, 
taken  this  time  at  the  base  of  the  furuncle  outside  of  the 
inflamed  area. 

At  the  time  of  making  these  observations  I spoke  of  them 
to  Dr.  Maurice  Reynaud,  who  was  good  enough  to  send  me 
a patient  who  had  had  furuncles  for  more  than  three  months. 
On  June  thirteenth  I made  cultures  of  the  pus  from  a fu- 
runcle of  this  man.  The  next  day  there  was  a general 


392 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


cloudiness  of  the  culture  fluids,  consisting  entirely  of  the 
preceding  parasite,  and  of  this  alone. 

Fourth  observation. — June  fourteenth,  the  same  individual 
showed  me  a newly  forming  furuncle  in  the  left  axilla: 
there  was  wide-spread  thickening  and  redness  of  the  skin, 
but  no  pus  was  yet  apparent.  An  incision  at  the  center 
of  the  thickening  showed  a small  quantity  of  pus  mixed  with 
blood.  Sowing,  rapid  growth  for  twenty-four  hours  and 
the  appearance  of  the  same  organism.  Blood  from  the  arm 
at  a distance  from  the  furuncle  remained  completely  sterile. 

June  17,  the  examination  of  a fresh  furuncle  on  the  same 
individual  gave  the  same  result,  the  development  of  a pure 
culture  of  the  same  organism. 

Fifth  observation.— July  twenty-first,  Dr.  Maurice  Rey- 
naud  informed  me  that  there  was  a woman  at  the  Lariboi- 
siere  hospital  with  multiple  furuncles.  As  a matter  of  fact 
her  back  was  covered  with  them,  some  in  active  suppura- 
tion, others  in  the  ulcerating  stage.  I took  pus  from  all  of 
these  furuncles  that  had  not  opened.  After  a few  hours, 
this  pus  gave  an  abundant  growth  in  cultures.  The  same 
organism,  without  admixture,  was  found.  Blood  from  the 
inflamed  base  of  the  furuncle  remained  sterile. 

In  brief,  it  appears  certain  that  every  furuncle  contains 
an  aerobic  microscopic  parasite,  to  which  is  due  the  local 
inflammation  and  the  pus  formation  that  follows. 

Culture  fluids  containing  the  minute  organism  inoculated 
under  the  skin  of  rabbits  and  guinea-pigs  produce  abscesses 
generally  small  in  size  and  that  promptly  heal.  As  long  as 
healing  is  not  complete  the  pus  of  the  abscesses  contains 
the  microscopic  organism  which  produced  them.  It  is  there- 
fore living  and  developing,  but  its  propagation  at  a distance 
does  not  occur.  These  cultures  of  which  I speak,  when 
injected  in  small  quantities  in  the  jugular  vein  of  guinea- 
pigs  show  that  the  minute  organism  does  not  grow  in  the 
blood.  The  day  after  the  injection  they  cannot  be  recovered 
even  in  cultures.  I seem  to  have  observed  as  a general 
principle,  that,  provided  the  blood  corpuscles  are  in  good 
physiological  condition  it  is  difficult  for  aerobic  parasites  to 
develop  in  the  blood.  I have  always  thought  that  this, is 
to  be  explained  by  a kind  of  struggle  between  the  affinity  of 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


393 


the  blood  corpuscles  for  oxygen  and  that  belonging  to  the 
parasite  in  cultures.  Whilst  the  blood  corpuscles  carry 
off,  that  is,  take  possession  of  all  the  oxygen,  the  life  and 
development  of  the  parasite  become  extremely  difficult  or 
impossible.  It  is  therefore  easily  eliminated,  digested,  if 
one  may  use  the  phrase.  I have  seen  these  facts  many  times 
in  anthrax  and  chicken-cholera,  diseases  both  of  which  are 
due  to  the  presence  of  an  aerobic  parasite. 

Blood  cultures  from  the  general  circulation  being  always 
sterile  in  these  experiments,  it  would  seem  that  under  the 
conditions  of  the  furuncular  diathesis,  the  minute  parasite 
does  not  exist  in  the  blood.  That  it  cannot  be  cultivated  for 
the  reason  given,  and  that  it  is  not  abundant  is  evident;  but, 
from  the  sterility  of  the  cultures  reported  (five  only)  it 
should  not  be  definitely  concluded  that  the  little  parasite  may 
not,  at  some  time,  be  taken  up  by  the  blood  and  transplanted 
from  a furuncle  when  it  is  developing  to  another  part  of 
the  body,  where  it  may  be  accidentally  lodged,  may  develop 
and  produce  a new  furuncle.  I am  convinced  that  if,  in  cases 
of  furuncular  diathesis,  not  merely  a few  drops  but  several 
grams  of  blood  from  the  general  circulation  could  be  placed 
under  cultivation  frequent  successful  growths  would  be  ob- 
tained.3 In  the  many  experiments  I have  made  on  the  blood 
in  chicken-cholera,  I have  frequently  demonstrated  that  re- 
peated cultures  from  droplets  of  blood  do  not  show  an  even 
development  even  where  taken  from  the  same  organ,  the 
heart  for  example,  and  at  the  moment  when  the  parasite 
begins  its  existence  in  the  blood,  which  can  easily  be  under- 
stood. Once  even,  it  happened  that  only  three  out  of  ten 
chickens  died  after  inoculation  with  infectious  blood  in 
which  the  parasite  had  just  began  to  appear,  the  remaining 
seven  showed  no  symptoms  whatever.  In  fact,  the  microbe, 
at  the  moment  of  beginning  its  entrance  into  the  blood  may 
exist  singly  or  in  minute  numbers  in  one  droplet  and  not 
at  all  in  its  immediate  neighbor.  I believe  therefore  that 
it  would  be  extremely  instructive  in  furunculosis,  to  find  a 
patient  willing  to  submit  to  a number  of  punctures  in  dif- 

3 This  prediction  is  fully  carried  out  in  the  present  day  successful  use  of  ■ 
considerable  amounts  of  blood  in  cultures  and  the  resultant  frequent  demon- 
strations of  bacteria  present  in  the  circulation  in  many  infections. — ■ 
Translator. 


394 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


ferent  parts  of  the  body  away  from  formed  or  forming 
furuncles,  and  thus  secure  many  cultures,  simultaneous  of 
otherwise,  of  the  blood  of  the  general  circulation.  I am 
convinced  that  among  them  would  be  found  growths  of  the 
micro-organism  of  furuncles. 

II.  On  Osteomyelitis.  Single  observation.  I have  but 
one  observation  relating  to  this  severe  disease,  and  in  this 
Dr.  Lannelongue  took  the  initiative.  The  monograph  on 
osteomyelitis  published  by  this  learned  practitioner  is  well 
known,  with  his  suggestion  of  the  possibility  of  a cure 
by  trephining  the  bone  and  the  use  of  antiseptic  washes  and 
dressings.  On  the  fourteenth  of  February,  at  the  request 
of  Dr.  Lannelongue  I went  to  the  Sainte-Eugenie  hospital, 
where  this  skillful  surgeon  was  to  operate  on  a little  girl  of 
about  twelve  years  of  age.  The  right  knee  was  much  swol- 
len, as  well  as  the  whole  leg  below  the  calf  and  a part  of 
the  thigh  above  the  knee.  There  was  no  external  opening. 
Under  chloroform,  Dr.  Lannelongue  made  a long  incision 
below  the  knee  which  let  out  a large  amount  of  pus;  the 
tibia  was  found  denuded  for  a long  distance.  Three  places 
in  the  bone  were  trephined.  From  each  of  these,  quantities 
of  pus  flowed.  Pus  from  inside  and  outside  the  bone  was 
collected  with  all  possible  precautions  and  was  carefully 
examined  and  cultivated  later.  The  direct  microscopic  study 
of  the  pus,  both  internal  and  external,  was  of  extreme  in- 
terest. It  was  seen  that  both  contained  large  numbers  of  the 
organism  similar  to  that  of  furuncles,  arranged  in  pairs,  in 
fours  and  in  packets,  some  with  sharp  clear  contour,  others 
only  faintly  visible  and  with  very  pale  outlines.  The  ex- 
ternal pus  contained  many  pus  corpuscles,  the  internal  had 
none  at  all.  It  was  like  a fatty  paste  of  the  furuncular 
organism.  Also,  it  may  be  noted,  that  growth  of  the  small 
organism  had  begun  in  less  than  six  hours  after  the  cul- 
tures were  started.  Thus  I saw,  that  it  corresponded  exactly 
with  the  organism  of  furuncles.  The  diameter  of  the 
individuals  was  found  to  be  one  one-thousandth  of  a mil- 
limeter. If  I ventured  to  express  myself  so  I might  say 
that  in  this  case  at  least  the  osteomyelitis  was  really  a 
furuncle  of  the  bone  marrow.4  It  is  undoubtedly  easy  to 
induce  osteomyelitis  artificially  in  living  animals. 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


395 


III.  On  puerperal  fever. — First  observation.  On  the 
twelfth  of  March,  1878,  Dr.  Hervieux  was  good  enough  to 
admit  me  to  his  service  in  the  Maternity  to  visit  a woman 
delivered  some  days  before  and  seriously  ill  with  puerperal 
fever.  The  lochia  were  extremely  fetid.  I found  them 
full  of  micro-organisms  of  many  kinds.  A small  amount  of 
blood  was  obtained  from  a puncture  on  the  index  finger  of 
the  left  hand,  (the  finger  being  first  properly  washed  and 
dried  with  a sterile  towel,)  and  then  sowed  in  chicken 
bouillon.  The  culture  remained  sterile  during  the  follow- 
ing days. 

The  thirteenth,  more  blood  was  taken  from  a puncture  in 
the  finger  and  this  time  growth  occurred.  As  death  took 
place  on  the  sixteenth  of  March  at  six  in  the  morning,  it 
seems  that  the  blood  contained  a microscopic  parasite  at 
least  three  days  before. 

The  fifteenth  of  March,  eighteen  hours  before  death,  blood 
from  a needle-prick  in  the  left  foot  was  used.  This  culture 
also  was  fertile. 

The  first  culture,  of  March  thirteenth,  contained  only  the 
organism  of  furuncles;  the  next  one,  that  of  the  fifteenth, 
contained  an  organism  resembling  that  of  furunculosis,  but 
which  always  differed  enough  to  make  it  easy  usually  to 
distinguish  it.  In  this  way ; whilst  the  parasite  of  furuncles 
is  arranged  in  pairs,  very  rarely  in  chains  of  three  or  four 
elements,  the  new  one,  that  of  the  culture  of  the  fifteenth, 
occurs  in  long  chains,  the  number  of  cells  in  each  being 
indefinite.  The  chains  are  flexible  and  often  appear  as 
little  tangled  packets  like  tangled  strings  of  pearls. 

The  autopsy  was  performed  on  the  seventeenth  at  two 
o’clock.  There  was  a large  amount  of  pus  in  the  peri- 
toneum. It  was  sowed  with  all  possible  precautions.  Blood 
from  the  basilic  and  femoral  veins  was  also  sowed.  So 
also  was  pus  from  the  mucous  surface  of  the  uterus,  from 
the  tubes,  and  finally  that  from  a lymphatic  in  the  uterine 
wall.  These  are  the  results  of  these  cultures:  in  all  there 
were  the  long  chains  of  cells  just  spoken  of  above,  and  no- 
where any  mixture  of  other  organisms,  except  in  the  culture 
from  the  peritoneal  pus,  which,  in  addition  to  the  long 

4 This  has  been  demonstrated,  as  is  well  known. — Translator. 


396 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


chains,  also  contained  the  small  pyogenic  vibrio  which  I 
describe  under  the  name  organism  of  pus  in  the  Note  I 
published  with  Messrs.  Joubert  and  Chamberland  on  the 
thirtieth  of  April,  1878.5 

Interpretation  of  the  disease  and  of  the  death. — After 
confinement,  the  pus  that  always  naturally  forms  in  the  in- 
jured parts  of  the  uterus  instead  of  remaining  pure  be- 
comes contaminated  with  microscopic  organisms  from  out- 
side, notably  the  organism  in  long  chains  and  the  pyogenic 
vibrio.  These  organisms  pass  into  the  peritoneal  cavity 
through  the  tubes  or  by  other  channels,  and  some  of  them 
into  the  blood,  probably  by  the  lymphatics.  The  resorption 
of  the  pus,  always  extremely  easy  and  prompt  when  it  is 
pure,  becomes  impossible  through  the  presence  of  the  para- 
sites, whose  entrance  must  be  prevented  by  all  possible 
means  from  the  moment  of  confinement. 

Second  observation. — The  fourteenth  of  March,  a woman 
died  of  puerperal  fever  at  the  Lariboisiere  hospital;  the 
abdomen  was  distended  before  death. 

Pus  was  found  in  abundance  by  a peritoneal  puncture  and 
was  sowed;  so  also  was  blood  from  a vein  in  the  arm.  The 
culture  of  pus  yielded  the  long  chains  noted  in  the  preceding 
observation  and  also  the  small  pyogenic  vibrio.  The  cul- 
ture from  the  blood  contained  only  the  long  chains. 

Third  observation. — The  seventeenth  of  May,  1879,  a 
woman,  three  days  past  confinement,  was  ill,  as  well  as  the 
child  she  was  nursing.  The  lochia  were  full  of  the  pyogenic 
vibrio  and  of  the  organism  of  furuncles,  although  there  was 
but  a small  proportion  of  the  latter.  The  milk  and  the  lochia 
were  sowed.  The  milk  gave  the  organism  in  long  chains  of 
granules,  and  the  lochia  only  the  pus  organism.  The  mother 
died,  and  there  was  no  autopsy. 

On  May  twenty-eighth,  a rabbit  was  inoculated  under  the 
skin  of  the  abdomen  with  five  drops  of  the  preceding  culture 
of  the  pyogenic  vibrio.  The  days  following  an  enormous 
abscess  formed  which  opened  spontaneously  on  the  fourth  of 
June.  An  abundantly  cheesy  pus  came  from  it.  About  the 
abscess  there  was  extensive  induration.  On  the  eighth  of 
June,  the  opening  of  the  abscess  was  larger,  the  suppuration 

6 See  preceding  paper. 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


397 


active.  Near  its  border  was  another  abscess,  evidently  joined 
with  the  first,  for  upon  pressing  it  with  the  finger,  pus 
flowed  freely  from  the  opening  in  the  first  abscess.  During 
the  whole  of  the  month  of  June,  the  rabbit  was  sick  and  the 
abscesses  suppurated,  but  less  and  less.  In  July  they  closed; 
the  animal  was  well.  There  could  only  be  felt  some  nodules 
under  the  skin  of  the  abdomen. 

What  disturbances  might  not  such  an  organism  carry 
into  the  body  of  a parturient  woman,  after  passing  into  the 
peritoneum,  the  lymphatics  or  the  blood  through  the  maternal 
placenta ! Its  presence  is  much  more  dangerous  than  that  of 
the  parasite  arranged  in  chains.  Furthermore,  its  develop- 
ment is  always  threatening,  because,  as  said  in  the  work 
already  quoted  (April,  1878)  this  organism  can  be  easily 
recovered  from  many  ordinary  waters. 

I may  add  that  the  organism  in  long  chains,  and  that 
arranged  in  pairs  are  also  extremely  widespread,  and  that 
one  of  their  habitats  is  the  mucous  surfaces  of  the  genital 
tract.8 

Apparently  there  is  no  puerperal  parasite,  properly 
speaking.  I have  not  encountered  true  septicemia  in 
my  experiments:  but  it  ought  to  be  among  the  puerperal 
affections. 

Fourth  observation. — On  June  fourteenth,  at  the  Laribois- 
iere,  a woman  was  very  ill  following  a recent  confinement: 
she  was  at  the  point  of  death:  in  fact  she  did  die  on  the 
fourteenth  at  midnight.  Some  hours  before  death  pus  was 
taken  from  an  abscess  on  the  arm,  and  blood  from  a puncture 
in  a finger.  Both  were  sowed.  On  the  next  day  (the 
fifteenth)  the  flask  containing  the  pus  from  the  abscess  was 
filled  with  long  chains  of  granules.  The  flask  containing  the 
blood  was  sterile.  The  autopsy  was  at  ten  o’clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  sixteenth.  Blood  from  a vein  of  the  arm,  pus 
from  the  uterine  walls  and  that  from  a collection  in  the 
synovial  sac  of  the  knee  were  all  placed  in  culture  media. 
All  showed  growth,  even  the  blood,  and  they  all  contained  the 
long  strings  of  granules.  The  peritoneum  contained  no  pus. 

6 When,  by  the  procedure  I elsewhere  described,  urine  is  removed  in  a 
pure  condition  by  the  urethra  from  the  bladder,  if  any  chance  growth 
occurs  through  some  error  of  technic,  it  _ is  the  two  organisms  of  which  I 
have  been  speaking  that  are  almost  exclusively  present. 


398 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


Interpretation  of  the  disease  and  of  the  death. — The  injury 
of  the  uterus  during  confinement  as  usual  furnished  pus, 
which  gave  a lodging  place  for  the  germs  of  the  long  chains 
of  granules.  These,  probably  through  the  lymphatics,  passed 
to  the  joints  and  to  some  other  places,  thus  being  the  origin 
of  the  metastic  abscesses  which  produced  death. 

Fifth  observation. — On  June  seventeenth,  M.  Doleris,  a 
well-known  hospital  interne,  brought  to  me  some  blood, 
removed  with  the  necessary  precautions,  from  a child  dead 
immediately  after  birth,  whose  mother,  before  confinement 
had  had  febrile  symptoms  with  chills.  This  blood,  upon  cul- 
tivation, gave  an  abundance  of  the  pyogenic  vibrio.  On  the 
other  hand,  blood  taken  from  the  mother  on  the  morning  of 
the  eighteenth  (she  had  died  at  one  o’clock  that  morning) 
showed  no  development  whatever,  on  the  nineteenth  nor  on 
following  days.  The  autopsy  on  the  mother  took  place  on 
the  nineteenth.  It  is  certainly  worthy  of  note  that  the  uterus, 
peritoneum  and  intestines  showed  nothing  special,  but  the 
liver  was  full  of  metastatic  abscesses.  At  the  exit  of  the 
hepatic  vein  from  the  liver  there  was  pus,  and  its  walls  were 
ulcerated  at  this  place.  The  pus  from  the  liver  abscesses 
was  filled  with  the  pyogenic  vibrio.  Even  the  liver  tissues, 
at  a distance  from  the  visible  abscesses,  gave  abundant  cul- 
tures of  the  same  organism. 

Interpretation  of  the  disease  and  of  the  death. — The 
pyogenic  vibrio,  found  in  the  uterus,  or  which  was  perhaps 
already  in  the  body  of  the  mother,  since  she  suffered  from 
chills  before  confinement,  produced  metastatic  abscesses  in 
the  liver  and,  carried  to  the  blood  of  the  child,  there  induced 
one  of  the  forms  of  infection  called  purulent,  which  caused 
its  death. 

Sixth  observation. — The  eighteenth  of  June,  1879,  M. 
Doleris  informed  me  that  a woman  confined  some  days 
before  at  the  Cochin  Hospital,  was  very  ill.  On  the  twen- 
tieth of  June,  blood  from  a needle-prick  in  the  finger  was 
sowed;  the  culture  was  sterile.  On  July  fifteenth,  that  is 
to  say  twenty-five  days  later,  the  blood  was  tried  again. 
Still  no  growth.  There  was  no  organism  distinctly  recog- 
nizable in  the  lochia : the  woman  was  nevertheless,  they 
told  me,  dangerously  ill  and  at  the  point  of  death.  As  a 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


399 


matter  of  fact,  she  did  die  on  the  eighteenth  of  July  at 
nine  in  the  morning:  as  may  be  seen,  after  a very  long 
illness,  for  the  first  observations  were  made  over  a month 
before : the  illness  was  also  very  painful,  for  the  patient 
could  make  no  movement  without  intense  suffering. 

An  autopsy  was  made  on  the  nineteenth  at  ten  in  the 
morning,  and  was  of  great  interest.  There  was  purulent 
pleurisy  with  a considerable  pocket  of  pus,  and  purulent 
false  membranes  on  the  walls  of  the  pleura.  The  liver 
was  bleached,  fatty,  but  of  firm  consistency,  and  with  no 
apparent  metastatic  abscesses.  The  uterus,  of  small  size, 
appeared  healthy ; but  on  the  external  surface  whitish 
nodules  filled  with  pus  were  found.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  peritoneum,  which  was  not  inflamed;  but  there 
was  much  pus  in  the  shoulder  joints  and  the  symphysis 
pubis. 

The  pus  from  the  abscesses,  upon  cultivation,  gave  the 
long  chains  of  granules — not  only  that  of  the  pleura,  but 
that  from  the  shoulders  and  a lymphatic  of  the  uterus  as 
well.  An  interesting  thing,  but  easily  understood,  was 
that  the  blood  from  a vein  in  the  arm  and  taken  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  after  death  was  entirely  sterile.  Noth- 
ing grew  from  the  Fallopian  tubes  nor  the  broad  ligaments. 

Interpretation  of  the  disease  and  of  the  death — The  pus 
found  in  the  uterus  after  confinement  became  infected  with 
germs  of  microscopic  organisms  which  grew  there,  then 
passed  into  the  uterine  lymphatics,  and  from  there  went 
on  to  produce  pus  in  the  pleura  and  in  the  articulations. 

Seventh  observation. — On  June  eighteenth,  M.  Doleris 
informed  me  that  a woman  had  been  confined  at  the  Cochin 
Hospital  five  days  before  and  that  fears  were  entertained 
as  to  the  results  of  an  operation  that  had  been  performed, 
it  having  been  necessary  to  do  an  embryotomy.  The  lochia 
were  sowed  on  the  18th ; there  was  not  the  slightest  trace 
of  growth  the  next  day  nor  the  day  after.  Without  the 
least  knowledge  of  this  woman  since  the  eighteenth,  on  the 
twentieth  I ventured  to  assert  that  she  would  get  well.  I 
sent  to  inquire  about  her.  This  is  the  text  of  the  report: 
" The  woman  is  doing  extremely  well;  she  goes  out  to- 
morrow.” 


400 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


Interpretation  of  the  facts. — The  pus  naturally  formed  on 
the  surface  of  the  injured  parts  did  not  become  contaminated 
with  organisms  brought  from  without.  Natura  medicatrix 
carried  it  off,  that  is  to  say  the  vitality  of  the  mucous  sur- 
faces prevented  the  development  of  foreign  germs.  The 
pus  was  easily  resorbed,  and  recovery  took  place. 

I beg  the  Academy  to  permit  me,  in  closing,  to  submit  cer- 
tain definite  views,  which  I am  strongly  inclined  to  consider 
as  legitimate  conclusions  from  the  facts  I have  had  the  honor 
to  communicate  to  it. 

Under  the  expression  puerperal  fever  are  grouped  very  dif- 
ferent diseases,7  but  all  appearing  to  be  the  result  of  the 
growth  of  common  organisms  which  by  their  presence  infect 
the  pus  naturally  formed  on  injured  surfaces,  which  spread 
by  one  means  or  another,  by  the  blood  or  the  lymphatics, 
to  one  or  another  part  of  the  body,  and  there  induce  mor- 
bid changes  varying  with  the  condition  of  the  parts,  the 
nature  of  the  parasite,  and  the  general  constitution  of  the 
subject. 

Whatever  this  constitution,  does  it  not  seem  that  by  tak- 
ing measures  opposing  the  production  of  these  common 
parasitic  organisms  recovery  would  usually  occur,  except 
perhaps  when  the  body  contains,  before  confinement,  micro- 
scopic organisms,  in  contaminated  internal  or  external  ab- 
scesses, as  was  seen  in  one  striking  example  (fifth  observa- 
tion). The  antiseptic  method  I believe  likely  to  be  sovereign 
in  the  vast  majority  of  cases.  It  seems  to  me  that  immedi- 
ately after  confinement  the  application  of  antiseptics  should 
be  begun.  Carbolic  acid  can  render  great  service,  but  there 
is  another  antiseptic,  the  use  of  which  I am  strongly  in- 
clined to  advise,  this  is  boric  acid  in  concentrated  solution, 
that  is,  four  per  cent,  at  the  ordinary  temperature.  This 
acid,  whose  singular  influence  on  cell  life  has  been  shown  by 
M.  Dumas,  is  so  slightly  acid  that  it  is  alkaline  to  certain  test 
papers,  as  was  long  ago  shown  by  M.  Chevreul,  besides  this 
it  has  no  odor  like  carbolic  acid,  which  odor  often  disturbs 
the  sick.  Lastly,  its  lack  of  hurtful  effects  on  mucous  mem- 
branes, notably  of  the  bladder,  has  been  and  is  daily  demon- 

7 Interesting  as  the  starting  point  of  the  conception  of  diseases  according 
to  the  etiological  factor,  not  by  groups  of  symptoms. — Translator. 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  GERM  THEORY 


401 


strated  in  the  hospitals  of  Paris.  The  following  is  the  oc- 
casion upon  which  it  was  first  used.  The  Academy  may  re- 
member that  I stated  before  it,  and  the  fact  has  never 
been  denied,  that  ammoniacal  urine  is  always  produced  by  a 
microscopic  organism,  entirely  similar  in  many  respects  to 
the  organism  of  furuncles.  Later,  in  a joint  investigation 
with  M.  Joubert,  we  found  that  a solution  of  boric  acid  was 
easily  fatal  to  these  organisms.  After  that,  in  1877,  I m~ 
duced  Dr.  Guyon,  in  charge  of  the  genito-urinary  clinic  at 
the  Necker  hospital,  to  try  injections  of  a solution  of  boric 
acid  in  affections  of  the  bladder.  I am  informed  by  this 
skilful  practitioner  that  he  has  done  so,  and  daily  observes 
good  results  from  it.  He  also  tells  me  that  he  performs  no 
operation  of  lithotrity  without  the  use  of  similar  injections. 
I recall  these  facts  to  show  that  a solution  of  boric  acid 
is  entirely  harmless  to  an  extremely  delicate  mucous  mem- 
brane, that  of  the  bladder,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  fill  the 
bladder  with  a warm  solution  of  boric  acid  without  even 
inconvenience. 

To  return  to  the  confinement  cases.  Would  it  not  be  of 
great  service  to  place  a warm  concentrated  solution  of 
boric  acid,  and  compresses,  at  the  bedside  of  each  patient; 
which  she  could  renew  frequently  after  saturating  with  the 
solution,  and  this  also  after  confinement.  It  would  also  be 
acting  the  part  of  prudence  to  place  the  compresses,  before 
using,  in  a hot  air  oven  at  150°  C.,  more  than  enough  to 
kill  the  germs  of  the  common  organisms.8 

Was  I justified  in  calling  this  communication  “ On  the 
extension  of  the  germ  theory  to  the  etiology  of  certain  com- 
mon diseases?  ” I have  detailed  the  facts  as  they  have  ap- 
peared to  me  and  I have  mentioned  interpretations  of  them : 
but  I do  not  conceal  from  myself  that,  in  medical  territory,  it 
is  difficult  to  support  one’s  self  wholly  on  subjective  found- 
ations. I do  not  forget  that  Medicine  and  Veterinary  prac- 
tice are  foreign  to  me.  I desire  judgment  and  criticism  up- 
on all  my  contributions.  Little  tolerant  of  frivolous  or 
prejudiced  contradiction,  contemptuous  of  that  ignorant  criti- 
cism which  doubts  on  principle,  I welcome  with  open  arms 


8 The  adoption  of  precautions,  similar  to  those  here  suggested,  has  resulted 
in  the  practically  complete  disappearance  of  puerperal  fever. — Translator. 


402 


LOUIS  PASTEUR 


the  militant  attack  which  has  a method  in  doubting  and 
whose  rule  of  conduct  has  the  motto  “ More  light.” 

It  is  a pleasure  once  more  to  acknowledge  the  helpfulness 
of  the  aid  given  me  by  Messrs.  Chamberland  and  Roux 
during  the  studies  I have  just  recorded.  I wish  also  to 
acknowledge  the  great  assistance  of  M.  Doleris. 


PREJUDICES  WHICH  HAVE 
RETARDED  THE  PROGRESS 
OF  GEOLOGY 

UNIFORMITY  IN  THE  SERIES 
OF  PAST  CHANGES 
IN  THE  ANIMATE 
AND  INANIMATE  WORLD 


BY 

SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


Sir  Charles  Lyell  was  born  near  Kirriemuir,  Forfarshire, 
Scotland,  on  November  14,  1797 . He  graduated  from  Exeter 
College,  Oxford,  in  1819,  and  proceeded  to  the  study  of  law. 
Although  he  practised  for  a short  time,  he  was  much  hampered 
in  this  profession,  as  in  all  his  work,  by  weak  eyesight;  and  after 
the  age  of  thirty  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  science. 

Lyell’s  father  was  a botanist  of  some  distinction,  and  the  son 
seems  to  have  been  interested  in  natural  history  from  an  early 
age.  While  still  an  undergraduate  he  made  geological  journeys 
in  Scotland  and  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and  throughout  his 
life  he  upheld  by  precept  and  example  the  importance  of  travel 
for  the  geologist. 

The  first  edition  of  his  “Principles  of  Geology”  was  published 
in  1830;  and  the  phrase  used  in  the  sub-title,  “an  attempt  to  ex- 
plain the  former  changes  of  the  earth’s  surface,  by  reference  to 
causes  now  in  action,”  strikes  the  keynote  of  his  whole  work. 
All  his  life  he  continued  to  urge  this  method  of  explanation  in 
opposition  to  the  hypotheses,  formerly  much  in  vogue,  which  as- 
sumed frequent  catastrophes  to  account  for  geologic  changes.  The 
chapters  here  printed  give  his  own  final  statement  of  his  views 
on  this  important  issue. 

Lyell’s  scientific  work  received  wide  recognition:  he  was  more 
than  once  President  of  the  Geological  Society,  in  1864  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  British  Association,  was  knighted  in  1848,  and  made 
a baronet  in  1864.  He  possessed  a broad  general  culture,  and  his 
home  was  a noted  center  of  the  intellectual  life  of  London.  He 
twice  came  to  the  United  States  to  lecture,  and  created  great 
interest.  On  his  death,  on  February  22,  1875,  he  was  buried  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

Persistent  as  were  Lyell’s  efforts  for  the  establishment  of  his 
main  theory,  he  remained  remarkably  open-minded ; and  when  the 
evolutionary  hypothesis  was  put  forward  he  became  a warm  sup- 
porter of  it.  Darwin  in  his  autobiography  thus  sums  up  Lyell’s 
achievement:  “The  science  of  geology  is  enormously  indebted  to 
Lyell — more  so,  as  I believe,  than  to  any  other  man  who  ever 
lived.” 


404 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


i 

Prepossessions  in  regard  to  the  Duration  of  Past  Time 
— Prejudices  Arising  from  our  Peculiar  Position 
as  Inhabitants  of  the  Land — Others  Occasioned  by 
our  not  seeing  Subterranean  Changes  now  in  Prog- 
ress— All  these  Causes  Combine  to  make  the  Former 
Course  of  Nature  appear  Different  from  the  Pres- 
ent— Objections  to  the  Doctrine  that  Causes  Simi- 
lar in  Kind  and  Energy  to  those  now  Acting,  have 
Produced  the  Former  Changes  of  the  Earth's  Sur- 
face Considered 

TF  WE  reflect  on  the  history  of  the  progress  of  geology 
* * * we  perceive  that  there  have  been  great  fluctuations 
of  opinion  respecting  the  nature  of  the  causes  to  which 
all  former  changes  of  the  earth’s  surface  are  referable.  The 
first  observers  conceived  the  monuments  which  the  geologist 
endeavours  to  decipher  to  relate  to  an  original  state  of  the 
earth,  or  to  a period  when  there  were  causes  in  activity, 
distinct,  in  a kind  and  degree,  from  those  now  constituting 
the  economy  of  nature.  These  views  were  gradually  modi- 
fied, and  some  of  them  entirely  abandoned,  in  proportion 
as  observations  were  multiplied,  and  the  signs  of  former 
mutations  were  skilfully  interpreted.  Many  appearances, 
which  had  for  a long  time  been  regarded  as  indicating 
mysterious  and  extraordinary  agency,  were  finally  recognised 
as  the  necessary  result  of  the  laws  now  governing  the 
material  world;  and  the  discovery  of  this  unlooked-for  con- 
formity has  at  length  induced  some  philosophers  to  infer, 
that,  during  the  ages  contemplated  in  geology,  there  has 
never  been  any  interruption  to  the  agency  of  the  same  uni- 

1 The  text  of  the  two  following  papers  is  taken  from  the  nth  edition 
of  Lyell’s  Principles  of  Geology,  the  last  edition  revised  by  the  author. 


406 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


form  laws  of  change.  The  same  assemblage  of  general 
causes,  they  conceive,  may  have  been  sufficient  to  produce, 
by  their  various  combinations,  the  endless  diversity  of  effects, 
of  which  the  shell  of  the  earth  has  preserved  the  memorials; 
and,  consistently  with  these  principles,  the  recurrence  of  an- 
alogous changes  is  expected  by  them  in  time  to  come. 

Whether  we  coincide  or  not  in  this  doctrine  we  must 
admit  that  the  gradual  progress  of  opinion  concerning  the 
succession  of  phenomena  in  very  remote  eras,  resembles,  in 
a singular  manner,  that  which  has  accompanied  the  grow- 
ing intelligence  of  every  people,  in  regard  to  the  economy  of 
nature  in  their  own  times.  In  an  early  state  of  advancement, 
when  a greater  number  of  natural  appearances  are  unintel- 
ligible, an  eclipse,  an  earthquake,  a flood,  or  the  approach 
of  a comet,  with  many  other  occurrences  afterwards  found 
to  belong  to  the  regular  course  of  events,  are  regarded  as 
prodigies.  The  same  delusion  prevails  as  to  moral  phenom- 
ena, and  many  of  these  are  ascribed  to  the  intervention 
of  demons,  ghosts,  witches,  and  other  immaterial  and  super- 
natural agents.  By  degrees,  many  of  the  enigmas  of  the 
moral  and  physical  world  are  explained,  and,  instead  of 
being  due  to  extrinsic  and  irregular  causes,  they  are  found 
to  depend  on  fixed  and  invariable  laws.  The  philosopher  at 
last  becomes  convinced  of  the  undeviating  uniformity  of 
secondary  causes ; and,  guided  by  his  faith  in  this  principle, 
he  determines  the  probability  of  accounts  transmitted  to  him 
of  former  occurrences,  and  often  rejects  the  fabulous  tales  of 
former  times,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  irreconcilable 
with  the  experience  of  more  enlightened  ages. 

Prepossessions  in  regard  to  the  duration  of  past  time. — As 
a belief  in  the  want  of  conformity  in  the  cause  by  which 
the  earth’s  crust  has  been  modified  in  ancient  and  modern 
periods  was,  for  a long  time,  universally  prevalent,  and  that, 
too,  amongst  men  who  were  convinced  that  the  order  of  na- 
ture had  been  uniform  for  the  last  several  thousand  years, 
every  circumstance  which  could  have  influenced  their  minds 
and  given  an  undue  bias  to  their  opinions  deserves  particular 
attention.  Now  the  reader  may  easily  satisfy  himself,  that, 
however  undeviating  the  course  of  nature  may  have  been 
from  the  earliest  epochs,  it  was  impossible  for  the  first  cul- 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


407 


tivators  of  geology  to  come  to  such  a conclusion,  so  long 
as  they  were  under  a delusion  as  to  the  age  of  the  world, 
and  the  date  of  the  first  creation  of  animate  beings.  How- 
ever fantastical  some  theories  of  the  sixteenth  century  may 
now  appear  to  us, — however  unworthy  of  men  of  great  talent 
and  sound  judgment, — we  may  rest  assured  that,  if  the  same 
misconception  now  prevailed  in  regard  to  the  memorials  of 
human  transactions,  it  would  give  rise  to  a similar  train  of 
absurdities.  Let  us  imagine,  for  example,  that  Champollion, 
and  the  French  and  Tuscan  literati  when  engaged  in  ex- 
ploring the  antiquities  of  Egypt,  had  visited  that  country 
with  a firm  belief  that  the  banks  of  the  Nile  were  never 
peopled  by  the  human  race  before  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  that  their  faith  in  this  dogma  was  as 
difficult  to  shake  as  the  opinion  of  our  ancestors,  that  the 
earth  was  never  the  abode  of  living  beings  until  the  creation 
of  the  present  continents,  and  of  the  species  now  existing, — 
it  is  easy  to  perceive  what  extravagant  systems  they  would 
frame,  while  under  the  influence  of  this  delusion,  to  account 
for  the  monuments  discovered  in  Egypt.  The  sight  of  the 
pyramids,  obelisks,  colossal  statues,  .and  ruined  temples, 
would  fill  them  with  such  astonishment,  that  for  a time  they 
would  be  as  men  spell-bound — wholly  incapable  of  reasoning 
with  sobriety.  They  might  incline  at  first  to  refer  the  con- 
struction of  such  stupendous  works  to  some  superhuman 
powers  of  the  primeval  world.  A system  might  be  invented 
resembling  that  so  gravely  advanced  by  Manetho,  who  relates 
that  a dynasty  of  gods  originally  ruled  in  Egypt,  of  whom 
Vulcan,  the  first  monarch,  reigned  nine  thousand  years; 
after  whom  came  Hercules  and  other  demigods,  who  were 
at  last  succeeded  by  human  kings. 

When  some  fanciful  speculations  of  this  kind  had  amused 
their  imaginations  for  a time,  some  vast  repository  of  mum- 
mies would  be  discovered,  and  would  immediately  undeceive 
those  antiquaries  who  enjoyed  an  opportunity  of  personally 
examining  them;  but  the  prejudices  of  others  at  a distance, 
who  were  not  eye-witnesses  of  the  whole  phenomena,  would 
not  be  so  easily  overcome.  The  concurrent  report  of  many 
travellers  would,  indeed,  render  it  necessary  for  them  to 
accommodate  ancient  theories  to  some  of  the  new  facts,  and 


408 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


much  wit  and  ingenuity  would  be  required  to  modify  and 
defend  their  old  positions.  Each  new  invention  would 
violate  a greater  number  of  known  analogies;  for  if  a theory 
be  required  to  embrace  some  false  principle,  it  becomes  more 
visionary  in  proportion  as  facts  are  multiplied,  as  would  be 
the  case  if  geometers  were  now  required  to  form  an  astro- 
nomical system  on  the  assumption  of  the  immobility  of  the 
earth. 

Amongst  other  fanciful  conjectures  concerning  the  history 
of  Egypt,  we  may  suppose  some  of  the  following  to  be 
started.  ‘As  the  banks  of  the  Nile  have  been  so  recently 
colonized  for  the  first  time,  the  curious  substances  called 
mummies  could  never  in  reality  have  belonged  to  men. 
They  may  have  been  generated  by  some  plastic  virtue  re- 
siding in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  or  they  may  be  abortions 
of  Nature  produced  by  her  incipient  efforts  in  the  work 
of  creation.  For  if  deformed  beings  are  sometimes  born 
even  now,  when  the  scheme  of  the  universe  is  fully  de- 
veloped, many  more  may  have  been  “ sent  before  their  time 
scarce  half  made  up,”  when  the  planet  itself  was  in  the 
embryo  state.  But  if  these  notions  appear  to  derogate 
from  the  perfection  of  the  Divine  attributes,  and  if  these 
mummies  be  in  all  their  parts  true  representations  of  the 
human  form,  may  we  not  refer  them  to  the  future  rather 
than  the  past  ? May  we  not  be  looking  into  the  womb 
of  Nature,  and  not  her  grave?  May  not  these  images  be 
like  the  shades  of  the  unborn  in  Virgil’s  Elysium — the 
archetypes  of  men  not  yet  called  into  existence  ? ’ 

These  speculations,  if  advocated  by  eloquent  writers,  would 
not  fail  to  attract  many  zealous  votaries,  for  they  would 
relieve  men  from  the  painful  necessity  of  renouncing  precon- 
ceived opinions.  Incredible  as  such  scepticism  may  appear, 
it  has  been  rivalled  by  many  systems  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  and  among  others  by  that  of  the 
learned  Falloppio,  who,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  33),  regarded 
the  tusks  of  fossil  elephants  as  earthly  concretions,  and  the 
pottery  or  fragments  of  vases  in  the  Monte  Testaceo,  near 
Rome,  as  works  of  nature,  and  not  of  art.  But  when 
one  generation  had  passed  away,  and  another,  not  com- 
promised to  the  support  of  antiquated  dogmas,  had  sue- 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


409 


ceeded,  they  would  review  the  evidence  afforded  by  mum- 
mies more  impartially,  and  would  no  longer  controvert 
the  preliminary  question,  that  human  beings  had  lived 
in  Egypt  before  the  nineteenth  century:  so  that  when  a 
hundred  years  perhaps  had  been  lost,  the  industry  and 
talents  of  the  philosopher  would  be  at  last  directed  to  the 
elucidation  of  points  of  real  historical  importance. 

But  the  above  arguments  are  aimed  against  one  only  of 
many  prejudices  with  which  the  earlier  geologists  had  to 
contend.  Even  when  they  conceded  that  the  earth  had  been 
peopled  with  animate  beings  at  an  earlier  period  than  was 
at  first  supposed,  they  had  no  conception  that  the  quantity 
of  time  bore  so  great  a proportion  to  the  historical  era  as  is 
now  generally  conceded.  How  fatal  every  error  as  to  the 
quantity  of  time  must  prove  to  the  introduction  of  rational 
views  concerning  the  state  of  things  in  former  ages,  may  be 
conceived  by  supposing  the  annals  of  the  civil  and  military 
transactions  of  a great  nation  to  be  perused  under  the  im- 
pression that  they  occurred  in  a period  of  one  hundred  in- 
stead of  two  thousand  years.  Such  a portion  of  history 
would  immediately  assume  the  air  of  a romance ; the  events 
would  seem  devoid  of  credibility,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
present  course  of  human  affairs.  A crowd  of  incidents 
would  follow  each  other  in  thick  succession.  Armies  and 
fleets  would  appear  to  be  assembled  only  to  be  destroyed, 
and  cities  built  merely  to  fall  in  ruins.  There  would  be 
the  most  violent  transitions  from  foreign  or  intestine  war 
to  periods  of  profound  peace,  and  the  works  effected  dur- 
ing the  years  of  disorder  or  tranquillity  would  appear  alike 
superhuman  in  magnitude. 

He  who  should  study  the  monuments  of  the  natural  world 
under  the  influence  of  a similar  infatuation,  must  draw  a 
no  less  exaggerated  picture  of  the  energy  and  violence  of 
causes,  and  must  experience  the  same  insurmountable  diffi- 
culty in  reconciling  the  former  and  present  state  of  nature. 
If  we  could  behold  in  one  view  all  the  volcanic  cones  thrown 
up  in  Iceland,  Italy,  Sicily,  and  other  parts  of  Europe, 
during  the  last  five  thousand  years,  and  could  see  the  lavas 
which  have  flowed  during  the  same  period;  the  dislocations, 
subsidences,  and  elevations  caused  during  earthquakes;  the 


410 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


lands  added  to  various  deltas,  or  devoured  by  the  sea,  to- 
gether with  the  effects  of  devastation  by  floods,  and  imagine 
that  all  these  events  had  happened  in  one  year,  we  must 
form  most  exalted  ideas  of  the  activity  of  the  agents,  and 
the  suddenness  of  the  revolutions.  If  geologists,  therefore, 
have  misinterpreted  the  signs  of  a succession  of  events,  so  as 
to  conclude  that  centuries  were  implied  where  the  characters 
indicated  thousands  of  years,  and  thousands  of  years  where 
the  language  of  Nature  signified  millions,  they  could  not,  if 
they  reasoned  logically  from  such  false  premises,  come  to 
any  other  conclusion  than  that  the  system  of  the  natural 
world  had  undergone  a complete  revolution. 

We  should  be  warranted  in  ascribing  the  erection  of  the 
great  pyramid  to  superhuman  power,  if  we  were  convinced 
that  it  was  raised  in  one  day ; and  if  we  imagine,  in  the  same 
manner,  a continent  or  mountain-chain  to  have  been  elevated 
during  an  equally  small  fraction  of  the  time  which  was 
really  occupied  in  upheaving  it,  we  might  then  be  justified 
in  inferring,  that  the  subterranean  movements  were  once  far 
more  energetic  than  in  our  own  times.  We  know  that  dur- 
ing one  earthquake  the  coast  of  Chili  may  be  raised  for  a 
hundred  miles  to  the  average  height  of  about  three  feet.  A 
repetition  of  two  thousand  shocks,  of  equal  violence,  might 
produce  a mountain-chain  one  hundred  miles  long,  and  six 
thousand  feet  high.  Now,  should  one  or  two  only  of  these 
convulsions  happen  in  a century,  it  would  be  consistent  with 
the  order  of  events  experienced  by  the  Chilians  from  the 
earliest  times : but  if  the  whole  of  them  were  to  occur  in  the 
next  hundred  years,  the  entire  district  must  be  depopulated, 
scarcely  any  animals  or  plants  could  survive,  and  the  sur- 
face would  be  one  confused  heap  of  ruin  and  desolation. 

One  consequence  of  undervaluing  greatly  the  quantity  of 
past  time,  is  the  apparent  coincidence  which  it  occasions  of 
events  necessarily  disconnected,  or  which  are  so  unusual, 
that  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  all  calculation  of  chances 
to  suppose  them  to  happen  at  one  and  the  same  time.  When 
the  unlooked-for  association  of  such  rare  phenomena  is 
witnessed  in  the  present  course  of  nature,  it  scarcely  ever 
fails  to  excite  a suspicion  of  the  preternatural  in  those  minds 
which  are  not  firmly  convinced  of  the  uniform  agency  of 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


411 


secondary  causes ; — as  if  the  death  of  some  individual  in 
whose  fate  they  are  interested  happens  to  be  accompanied 
by  the  appearance  of  a luminous  meteor,  or  a comet,  or  the 
shock  of  an  earthquake.  It  would  be  only  necessary  to 
multiply  such  coincidences  indefinitely,  and  the  mind  of 
every  philosopher  would  be  disturbed.  Now  it  would  be 
difficult  to  exaggerate  the  number  of  physical  events,  many 
of  them  most  rare  and  unconnected  in  their  nature,  which 
were  imagined  by  the  Woodwardian  hypothesis  to  have 
happened  in  the  course  of  a few  months:  and  numerous 
other  examples  might  be  found  of  popular  geological  theo- 
ries, which  require  us  to  imagine  that  a long  succession  of 
events  happened  in  a brief  and  almost  momentary  period. 

Another  liability  to  error,  very  nearly  allied  to  the  former, 
arises  from  the  frequent  contact  of  geological  monuments 
referring  to  very  distant  periods  of  time.  We  often  behold, 
at  one  glance,  the  effects  of  causes  which  have  acted  at  times 
incalculably  remote,  and  yet  there  may  be  no  striking  cir- 
cumstances to  mark  the  occurrence  of  a great  chasm  in  the 
chronological  series  of  Nature’s  archives.  In  the  vast  inter- 
val of  time  which  may  really  have  elapsed  between  the 
results  of  operations  thus  compared,  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  earth  may,  by  slow  and  insensible  modifications, 
have  become  entirely  altered ; one  or  more  races  of  organic 
beings  may  have  passed  away,  and  yet  have  left  behind, 
in  the  particular  region  under  contemplation,  no  trace  of 
their  existence. 

To  a mind  unconscious  of  these  intermediate  events,  the 
passage  from  one  state  of  things  to  another  must  appear  so 
violent,  that  the  idea  of  revolutions  in  the  system  inevitably 
suggests  itself.  The  imagination  is  as  much  perplexed  by 
the  deception,  as  it  might  be  if  two  distant  points  in  space 
were  suddenly  brought  into  immediate  proximity.  Let  us 
suppose,  for  a moment,  that  a philosopher  should  lie  down 
to  sleep  in  some  arctic  wilderness,  and  then  be  transferred 
by  a power,  such  as  we  read  of  in  tales  of  enchantment,  to  a 
valley  in  a tropical  country,  where,  on  awaking,  he  might 
find  himself  surrounded  by  birds  of  brilliant  plumage,  and 
all  the  luxuriance  of  animal  and  vegetable  forms  of  which 
Nature  is  so  prodigal  in  those  regions.  The  most  reasonable 


412 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


supposition,  perhaps,  which  he  could  make,  if  by  the  necro- 
mancer’s art  he  were  placed  in  such  a situation,  would  be, 
that  he  was  dreaming;  and  if  a geologist  form  theories 
under  a similar  delusion,  we  cannot  expect  him  to  preserve 
more  consistency  in  his  speculations,  than  in  the  train  of 
ideas  in  an  ordinary  dream. 

It  may  afford,  perhaps,  a more  lively  illustration  of  the 
principle  here  insisted  upon,  if  I recall  to  the  reader’s  recol- 
lection the  legend  of  the  Seven  Sleepers.  The  scene  of  that 
popular  fable  was  placed  in  the  two  centuries  which  elapsed 
between  the  reign  of  the  emperor  Decius  and  the  death  of 
Theodosius  the  younger.  In  that  interval  of  time  (between 
the  years  249  and  450  of  our  era)  the  union  of  the  Roman 
empire  had  been  dissolved,  and  some  of  its  fairest  provinces 
overrun  by  the  barbarians  of  the  north.  The  seat  of  govern- 
ment had  passed  from  Rome  to  Constantinople,  and  the 
throne  from  a pagan  persecutor  to  a succession  of  Christian 
and  orthodox  princes.  The  genius  of  the  empire  had  been 
humbled  in  the  dust,  and  the  altars  of  Diana  and  Hercules 
were  on  the  point  of  being  transferred  to  Catholic  saints  and 
martyrs.  The  legend  relates,  ‘ that  when  Decius  was  still 
persecuting  the  Christians,  seven  noble  youths  of  Ephesus 
concealed  themselves  in  a spacious  cavern  in  the  side  of  an 
adjacent  mountain,  where  they  were  doomed  to  perish  by  the 
tyrant,  who  gave  orders  that  the  entrance  should  be  firmly 
secured  with  a pile  of  huge  stones.  They  immediately  fell 
into  a deep  slumber,  which  was  miraculously  prolonged, 
without  injuring  the  powers  of  life,  during  a period  of  187 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  slaves  of  Adolius,  to 
whom  the  inheritance  of  the  mountain  had  descended,  re- 
moved the  stones  to  supply  materials  for  some  rustic  edifice : 
the  light  of  the  sun  darted  into  the  cavern,  and  the  seven 
sleepers  were  permitted  to  awake.  After  a slumber,  as 
they  thought,  of  a few  hours,  they  were  pressed  by  the 
calls  of  hunger,  and  resolved  that  Jamblichus,  one  of  their 
number,  should  secretly  return  to  the  city  to  purchase  bread 
for  the  use  of  his  companions.  The  youth  could  no  longer 
recognise  the  once  familiar  aspect  of  his  native  country, 
and  his  surprise  was  increased  by  the  appearance  of  a large 
cross  triumphantly  erected  over  the  principal  gate  of 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


413 


Ephesus.  His  singular  dress  and  obsolete  language  con- 
founded the  baker,  to  whom  he  offered  an  ancient  medal  of 
Decius  as  the  current  coin  of  the  empire;  and  Jamblichus, 
on  the  suspicion  of  a secret  treasure,  was  dragged  before 
the  judge.  Their  mutual  enquiries  produced  the  amazing 
discovery,  that  two  centuries  were  almost  elapsed  since 
Jamblichus  and  his  friends  had  escaped  from  the  rage  of  a 
pagan  tyrant.’ 

This  legend  was  received  as  authentic  throughout  the 
Christian  world  before  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  and 
was  afterwards  introduced  by  Mahomet  as  a divine  revela- 
tion into  the  Koran,  and  from  hence  was  adopted  and 
adorned  by  all  the  nations  from  Bengal  to  Africa  who  pro- 
fessed the  Mahometan  faith.  Some  vestiges  even  of  a 
similar  tradition  have  been  discovered  in  Scandinavia. 

‘ This  easy  and  universal  belief,’  observes  the  philosophical 
historian  of  the  Decline  and  Fall,  ‘ so  expressive  of  the 
sense  of  mankind,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  genuine  merit  of 
the  fable  itself.  We  imperceptibly  advance  from  youth  to 
age,  without  observing  the  gradual,  but  incessant,  change 
of  human  affairs;  and  even,  in  our  larger  experience  of 
history,  the  imagination  is  accustomed,  by  a perpetual  series 
of  causes  and  effects,  to  unite  the  most  distant  revolutions. 
But  if  the  interval  between  two  memorable  eras  could  be 
instantly  annihilated ; if  it  were  possible,  after  a momentary 
slumber  of  two  hundred  years,  to  display  the  new  world  to 
the  eyes  of  a spectator  who  still  retained  a lively  and  recent 
impression  of  the  old,  his  surprise  and  his  reflections  would 
furnish  the  pleasing  subject  of  a philosophical  romance.’2 

Prejudices  arising  from  our  peculiar  position  as  inhabi- 
tants of  the  land. — The  sources  of  prejudice  hitherto  con- 
sidered may  be  deemed  peculiar  for  the  most  part  to  the  in- 
fancy of  the  science,  but  others  are  common  to  the  first 
cultivators  of  geology  and  to  ourselves,  and  are  all  singularly 
calculated  to  produce  the  same  deception,  and  to  strengthen 
our  belief  that  the  course  of  Nature  in  the  earlier  ages  dif- 
fered widely  from  that  now  established.  Although  these 
circumstances  cannot  be  fully  explained  without  assuming 
some  things  as  proved,  which  it  has  been  my  object  else- 
2 Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,  chap,  xxxiii. 


414 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


where  to  demonstrate,*  it  may  be  well  to  allude  to  them 
briefly  in  this  place. 

The  first  and  greatest  difficulty,  then,  consists  in  an  ha- 
bitual unconsciousness  that  our  position  as  observers  is 
essentially  unfavourable,  when  we  endeavour  to  estimate  the 
nature  and  magnitude  of  the  changes  now  in  progress.  In 
consequence  of  our  inattention  to  this  subject,  we  are  liable 
to  serious  mistakes  in  contrasting  the  present  with  former 
states  of  the  globe.  As  dwellers  on  the  land,  we  inhabit 
about  a fourth  part  of  the  surface ; and  that  portion  is 
almost  exclusively  a theatre  of  decay,  and  not  of  reproduc- 
tion. Wc  know,  indeed,  that  new  deposits  are  annually 
formed  in  seas  and  lakes,  and  that  every  year  some  new 
igneous  rocks  are  produced  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  but 
we  cannot  watch  the  progress  of  their  formation,  and  as 
they  are  only  present  to  our  minds  by  the  aid  of  reflection, 
it  requires  an  effort  both  of  the  reason  and  the  imagination 
to  appreciate  duly  their  importance.  It  is,  therefore,  not 
surprising  that  we  estimate  very  imperfectly  the  result  of 
operations  thus  unseen  by  us;  and  that,  when  analogous 
results  of  former  epochs  are  presented  to  our  inspection,  we 
cannot  immediately  recognise  the  analogy.  He  who  has 
observed  the  quarrying  of  stone  from  a rock,  and  has  seen  it 
shipped  for  some  distant  port,  and  then  endeavours  to 
conceive  what  kind  of  edifice  will  be  raised  by  the  materials, 
is  in  the  same  predicament  as  a geologist,  who,  while  he  is 
confined  to  the  land,  sees  the  decomposition  of  rocks,  and 
the  transportation  of  matter  by  rivers  to  the  sea,  and  then 
endeavours  to  picture  to  himself  the  new  strata  which 
Nature  is  building  beneath  the  waters. 

Prejudices  arising  from  our  not  seeing  subterranean 
changes. — Nor  is  his  position  less  unfavourable  when,  be- 
holding a volcanic  eruption,  he  tries  to  conceive  what  changes 
the  column  of  lava  has  produced,  in  its  passage  upwards,  on 
the  intersected  strata;  or  what  form  the  melted  matter  may 
assume  at  great  depths  on  cooling;  or  what  may  be  the 
extent  of  the  subterranean  rivers  and  reservoirs  of  liquid 
matter  far  beneath  the  surface.  It  should,  therefore,  be 
remembered,  that  the  task  imposed  on  those  who  study  the 

’Elements  of  Geology,  6th  edit.,  1865;  and  Student’s  Elements,  1871. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


415 


earth’s  history  requires  no  ordinary  share  of  discretion;  for 
we  are  precluded  from  collating  the  corresponding  parts  of 
the  system  of  things  as  it  exists  now,  and  as  it  existed  at 
former  periods.  If  we  were  inhabitants  of  another  element 
— if  the  great  ocean  were  our  domain,  instead  of  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  land,  our  difficulties  would  be  considerably 
lessened;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  can  be  little  doubt, 
although  the  reader  may,  perhaps,  smile  at  the  bare  sug- 
gestion of  such  an  idea,  that  an  amphibious  being,  who 
should  possess  our  faculties,  would  still  more  easily  arrive  at 
sound  theoretical  opinions  in  geology,  since  he  might  be- 
hold, on  the  one  hand,  the  decomposition  of  rocks  in  the 
atmosphere,  or  the  transportation  of  matter  by  running 
water ; and,  on  the  other,  examine  the  deposition  of  sediment 
in  the  sea,  and  the  imbedding  of  animal  and  vegetable  re- 
mains in  new  strata.  He  might  ascertain,  by  direct  observa- 
tion, the  action  of  a mountain  torrent,  as  well  as  of  a marine 
current;  might  compare  the  products  of  volcanos  poured  out 
upon  the  land  with  those  ejected  beneath  the  waters;  and 
might  mark,  on  the  one  hand,  the  growth  of  the  forest,  and, 
on  the  other,  that  of  the  coral  reef.  Yet,  even  with  these 
advantages,  he  would  be  liable  to  fall  into  the  greatest  errors, 
when  endeavouring  to  reason  on  rocks  of  subterranean 
origin.  He  would  seek  in  vain,  within  the  sphere  of  his 
observation,  for  any  direct  analogy  to  the  process  of  their 
formation,  and  would  therefore  be  in  danger  of  attributing 
them,  wherever  they  are  upraised  to  view,  to  some  ‘ primeval 
state  of  nature.’ 

But  if  we  may  be  allowed  so  far  to  indulge  the  imagina- 
tion, as  to  suppose  a being  entirely  confined  to  the  nether 
world— -some  ‘ dusky  melancholy  sprite,’  like  Umbriel,  who 
could  ‘ flit  on  sooty  pinions  to  the  central  earth,’  but  who 
was  never  permitted  to  ‘ sully  the  fair  face  of  light/  and 
emerge  into  the  regions  of  water  and  of  air;  and  if  this 
being  should  busy  himself  in  investigating  the  structure  of 
the  globe,  he  might  frame  theories  the  exact  converse  of 
those  usually  adopted  by  human  philosophers.  He  might 
infer  that  the  stratified  rocks,  containing  shells  and  other 
organic  remains,  were  the  oldest  of  created  things,  be- 
longing to  some  original  and  nascent  state  of  the  planet. 


416 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


‘ Of  these  masses/  he  might  say,  £ whether  they  consist  of 
loose  incoherent  sand,  soft  clay,  or  solid  stone,  none  have 
been  formed  in  modern  times.  Every  year  some  of  them 
are  broken  and  shattered  by  earthquakes,  or  melted  by 
volcanic  fire ; and  when  they  cool  down  slowly  from  a state 
of  fusion,  they  assume  a new  and  more  crystalline  form, 
no  longer  exhibiting  that  stratified  disposition  and  those 
curious  impressions  and  fantastic  markings,  by  which  they 
were  previously  characterised.  This  process  cannot  have 
been  carried  on  for  an  indefinite  time,  for  in  that  case  all 
the  stratified  rocks  would  long  ere  this  have  been  fused 
and  crystallised.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  whole 
planet  once  consisted  of  these  mysterious  and  curiously 
bedded  formations  at  a time  when  the  volcanic  fire  had 
not  yet  been  brought  into  activity.  Since  that  period  there 
seems  to  have  been  a gradual  development  of  heat;  and 
this  augmentation  we  may  expect  to  continue  till  the  whole 
globe  shall  be  in  a state  of  fluidity,  or  shall  consist,  in 
those  parts  which  are  not  melted,  of  volcanic  and  crystal- 
line rocks/ 

Such  might  be  the  system  of  the  Gnome  at  the  very  time 
that  the  followers  of  Leibnitz,  reasoning  on  what  they  saw 
on  the  outer  surface,  might  be  teaching  the  opposite  doc- 
trine of  gradual  refrigeration,  and  averring  that  the  earth 
had  begun  its  career  as  a fiery  comet,  and  might  be  destined 
hereafter  to  become  a frozen  mass.  The  tenets  of  the 
schools  of  the  nether  and  of  the  upper  world  would  be 
directly  opposed  to  each  other,  for  both  would  partake  of 
the  prejudices  inevitably  resulting  from  the  continual  con- 
templation of  one  class  of  phenomena  to  the  exclusion  of 
another.  Man  observes  the  annual  decomposition  of 
crystalline  and  igneous  rocks,  and  may  sometimes  see 
their  conversion  into  stratified  deposits;  but  he  cannot 
witness  the  reconversion  of  the  sedimentary  into  the  crys- 
talline by  subterranean  heat.  He  is  in  the  habit  of  regard- 
ing all  the  sedimentary  rocks  as  more  recent  than  the  un- 
stratified, for  the  same  reason  that  we  may  suppose  him 
to  fall  into  the  opposite  error  if  he  saw  the  origin  of  the 
igneous  class  only. 

For  more  than  two  centuries  the  shelly  strata  of  the 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  GEOLOGY 


417 


Subapennine  hills  afforded  matter  of  speculation  to  the 
early  geologists  of  Italy,  and  few  of  them  had  any  sus- 
picion that  similar  deposits  were  then  forming  in  the  neigh- 
bouring sea.  Some  imagined  that  the  strata,  so  rich  in 
organic  remains,  instead  of  being  due  to  secondary  agents, 
had  been  so  created  in  the  beginning  of  things  by  the  fiat 
of  the  Almighty.  Others,  as  we  have  seen,  ascribed  the 
imbedded  fossil  bodies  to  some  plastic  power  which  resided 
in  the  earth  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world.  In  what  man- 
ner were  these  dogmas  at  length  exploded?  The  fossil 
relics  were  carefully  compared  with  their  living  analogues, 
and  all  doubts  as  to  their  organic  origin  were  eventually 
dispelled.  So,  also,  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  contain- 
ing beds  of  mud,  sand,  and  limestone : those  parts  of  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  were  examined  where  shells  are  now 
becoming  annually  entombed  in  new  deposits.  Donati  ex- 
plored the  bed  of  the  Adriatic,  and  found  the  closest  re- 
semblance between  the  strata  there  forming,  and  those 
which  constituted  hills  above  a thousand  feet  high  in 
various  parts  of  the  Italian  peninsula.  He  ascertained  by 
dredging  that  living  testacea  were  there  grouped  together 
in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  were  their  fossil  analogues 
in  the  inland  strata;  and  while  some  of  the  recent  shells  of 
the  Adriatic  were  becoming  incrusted  with  calcareous  rock, 
he  observed  that  others  had  been  newly  buried  in  sand  and 
clay,  precisely  as  fossil  shells  occur  in  the  Subapennine 
hills. 

In  like  manner,  the  volcanic  rocks  of  the  Vicentin  had 
been  studied  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century ; but  no 
geologist  suspected,  before  the  time  of  Arduino,  that  these 
were  composed  of  ancient  submarine  lavas.  During  many 
years  of  controversy,  the  popular  opinion  inclined  to  a belie! 
that  basalt  and  rocks  of  the  same  class  had  been  precipi- 
tated from  a chaotic  fluid,  or  an  ocean  which  rose  at  succes- 
sive periods  over  the  continents,  charged  with  the  com- 
ponent elements  of  the  rocks  in  question.  Few  will  now 
dispute  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  invent  a theory 
more  distant  from  the  truth;  yet  we  must  cease  to  wonder 
that  it  gained  so  many  proselytes,  when  we  remember  that 
its  claims  to  probability  arose  partly  from  the  very  circum- 

(14)  HC  XXXVIII 


418 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


stance  of  its  confirming  the  assumed  want  of  analogy  be- 
tween geological  causes  and  those  now  in  action.  By  what 
train  of  investigations  were  geologists  induced  at  length  to 
reject  these  views,  and  to  assent  to  the  igneous  origin  of 
the  trappean  formations?  By  an  examination  of  volcanos 
now  active,  and  by  comparing  their  structure  and  the  com- 
position of  their  lavas  with  the  ancient  trap  rocks. 

The  establishment,  from  time  to  time,  of  numerous  points 
of  identification,  drew  at  length  from  geologists  a reluctant 
admission,  that  there  was  more  correspondence  between  the 
condition  of  the  globe  at  remote  eras  and  now,  and  more 
uniformity  in  the  laws  which  have  regulated  the  changes  of 
its  surface,  than  they  at  first  imagined.  If,  in  this  state  of 
the  science,  they  still  despaired  of  reconciling  every  class  of 
geological  phenomena  to  the  operations  of  ordinary  causes, 
even  by  straining  analogy  to  the  utmost  limits  of  credibility, 
we  might  have  expected,  at  least,  that  the  balance  of  proba- 
bility would  now  have  been  presumed  to  incline  towards  the 
close  analogy  of  the  ancient  and  modern  causes.  But,  after 
repeated  experience  of  the  failure  of  attempts  to  speculate 
on  geological  monuments,  as  belonging  to  a distinct  order  of 
things,  new  sects  continued  to  persevere  in  the  principles 
adopted  by  their  predecessors.  They  still  began,  as  each 
new  problem  presented  itself,  whether  relating  to  the  animate 
or  inanimate  world,  to  assume  an  original  and  dissimilar 
order  of  nature ; and  when  at  length  they  approximated,  or 
entirely  came  round  to  an  opposite  opinion,  it  was  always 
with  the  feeling,  that  they  were  conceding  what  they  had 
been  justified  a priori  in  deeming  improbable.  In  a word, 
the  same  men  who,  as  natural  philosophers,  would  have  been 
most  incredulous  respecting  any  extraordinary  deviations 
from  the  known  course  of  nature,  if  reported  to  have  hap- 
pened in  their  own  time,  were  equally  disposed,  as  geologists, 
to  expect  the  proofs  of  such  deviations  at  every  period  of 
the  past.  * * * * 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


II 

Supposed  Alternate  Periods  of  Repose  and  Disorder — 
Observed  Facts  in  which  this  Doctrine  has  Origi- 
nated— These  may  be  Explained  by  Supposing  a 
Uniform  and  Uninterrupted  Series  of  Changes — 
Three-fold  Consideration  of  this  Subject:  First, 
in  Reference  to  the  Laws  which  Govern  the 
Formation  of  Fossiliferous  Strata,  and  the  Shift- 
ing of  the  Areas  of  Sedimentary  Deposition  ; Sec- 
ondly, in  Reference  to  the  Living  Creation,  Ex- 
tinction of  Species,  and  Origin  of  New  Animals 
and  Plants;  Thirdly,  in  Reference  to  the  Changes 
Produced  in  the  Earth^s  Crust  by  the  Continuance 
of  Subterranean  Movements  in  Certain  Areas,  and 
their  Transference  after  Long  Periods  to  New 
Areas — On  the  Combined  Influence  of  all  these 
Modes  and  Causes  of  Change  in  Producing  Breaks 
and  Chasms  in  the  Chain  of  Records — Concluding 
Remarks  on  the  Identity  of  the  Ancient  and 
Present  System  of  Terrestrial  Changes. 

f \ RIGIN  of  the  doctrine  of  alternate  periods  of  repose 
F M and  disorder. — It  has  been  truly  observed,  that  when 
we  arrange  the  fossiliferous  formations  in  chronolog- 
ical order,  they  constitute  a broken  and  defective  series  of 
monuments:  we  pass  without  any  intermediate  gradations 
from  systems  of  strata  which  are  horizontal,  to  other  systems 
which  are  highly  inclined — from  rocks  of  peculiar  mineral 
composition  to  others  which  have  a character  wholly  distinct 
—from  one  assemblage  of  organic  remains  to  another,  in 
which  frequently  nearly  all  the  species,  and  a large  part  of 

419 


420 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


the  genera,  are  different.  These  violations  of  continuity  are 
so  common  as  to  constitute  in  most  regions  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception,  and  they  have  been  considered  by  many 
geologists  as  conclusive  in  favour  of  sudden  revolutions  in 
the  inanimate  and  animate  world.  We  have  already  seen  that 
according  to  the  speculations  of  some  writers,  there  have 
been  in  the  past  history  of  the  planet  alternate  periods  of 
tranquillity  and  convulsion,  the  former  enduring  for  ages, 
and  resembling  the  state  of  things  now  experienced  by  man ; 
the  other  brief,  transient,  and  paroxysmal,  giving  rise  to  new 
mountains,  seas,  and  valleys,  annihilating  one  set  of  organic 
beings,  and  ushering  in  the  creation  of  another. 

It  will  be  the  object  of  the  present  chapter  to  demonstrate 
that  these  theoretical  views  are  not  borne  out  by  a fair 
interpretation  of  geological  monuments.  It  is  true  that  in 
the  solid  framework  of  the  globe  we  have  a chronological 
chain  of  natural  records,  many  links  of  which  are  wanting: 
but  a careful  consideration  of  all  the  phenomena  leads  to  the 
opinion  that  the  series  was  originally  defective — that  it  has 
been  rendered  still  more  so  by  time — that  a great  part  of 
what  remains  is  inaccessible  to  man,  and  even  of  that 
fraction  which  is  accessible  nine-tenths  or  more  are  to  this 
day  unexplored. 

The  readiest  way,  perhaps,  of  persuading  the  reader  that 
we  may  dispense  with  great  and  sudden  revolutions  in  the 
geological  order  of  events  is  by  showing  him  how  a regular 
and  uninterrupted  series  of  changes  in  the  animate  and  in- 
animate world  must  give  rise  to  such  breaks  in  the  sequence, 
and  such  unconformability  of  stratified  rocks,  as  are  usu- 
ally thought  to  imply  convulsions  and  catastrophes.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  the  order  of  events  thus 
assumed  to  occur,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  should  be  in 
harmony  with  all  the  conclusions  legitimately  drawn  by 
geologists  from  the  structure  of  the  earth,  and  must  be 
equally  in  accordance  with  the  changes  observed  by  man  to 
be  now  going  on  in  the  living  as  well  as  in  the  inorganic 
creation.  It  may  be  necessary  in  the  present  state  of 
science  to  supply  some  part  of  the  assumed  course  of  nature 
hypothetically;  but  if  so,  this  must  be  done  without  any 
violation  of  probability,  and  always  consistently  with  the 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


421 


analogy  of  what  is  known  both  of  the  past  and  present 
economy  of  our  system.  Although  the  discussion  of  so  com- 
prehensive a subject  must  carry  the  beginner  far  beyond  his 
depth,  it  will  also,  it  is  hoped,  stimulate  his  curiosity,  and 
prepare  him  to  read  some  elementary  treatises  on  geology 
with  advantage,  and  teach  him  the  bearing  on  that  science 
of  the  changes  now  in  progress  on  the  earth.  At  the  same 
time  it  may  enable  him  the  better  to  understand  the  inti- 
mate connection  between  the  Second  and  Third  Books 
of  this  work,  one  of  which  is  occupied  with  the  changes 
of  the  inorganic,  the  latter  with  those  of  the  organic 
creation. 

In  pursuance,  then,  of  the  plan  above  proposed,  I will 
consider  in  this  chapter,  first,  the  laws  which  regulate  the 
denudation  of  strata  and  the  deposition  of  sediment ; second- 
ly, those  which  govern  the  fluctuation  in  the  animate  world ; 
and  thirdly,  the  mode  in  which  subterranean  movements 
affect  the  earth’s  crust. 

Uniformity  of  change  considered,  first,  in  reference  to 
denudation  and  sedimentary  deposition. — First,  in  regard  to 
the  laws  governing  the  deposition  of  new  strata.  If  we  sur- 
vey the  surface  of  the  globe,  we  immediately  perceive  £hat  it 
is  divisible  into  areas  of  deposition  and  non-deposition ; or, 
in  other  words,  at  any  given  time  there  are  spaces  which  are 
the  recipients,  others  which  are  not  the  recipients,  of 
sedimentary  matter.  No  new  strata,  for  example,  are  thrown 
down  on  dry  land,  which  remains  the  same  from  year  to 
year;  whereas,  in  many  parts  of  the  bottom  of  seas  and 
lakes,  mud,  sand,  and  pebbles  are  annually  spread  out  by 
rivers  and  currents.  There  are  also  great  masses  of  lime- 
stone growing  in  some  seas,  chiefly  composed  of  corals  and 
shells,  or,  as  in  the  depths  of  the  Atlantic,  of  chalky  mud 
made  up  of  foraminifera  and  diatomaceas. 

As  to  the  dry  land,  so  far  from  being  the  receptacle  of 
fresh  accessions  of  matter,  it  is  exposed  almost  everywhere 
to  waste  away.  Forests  may  be  as  dense  and  lofty  as  those 
of  Brazil,  and  may  swarm  with  quadrupeds,  birds,  and  in- 
sects, yet  at  the  end  of  thousands  of  years  one  layer  of  black 
mould  a few  inches  thick  may  be  the  sole  representative  of 
those  myriads  of  trees,  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits,  those  in- 


422 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


numerable  bones  and  skeletons  of  birds,  quadrupeds,  and 
reptiles,  which  tenanted  the  fertile  region.  Should  this  land 
be  at  length  submerged,  the  waves  of  the  sea  may  wash  away 
in  a few  hours  the  scanty  covering  of  mould,  and  it  may 
merely  impart  a darker  shade  of  colour  to  the  next  stratum 
of  marl,  sand,  or  other  matter  newly  thrown  down.  So  also 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  where  no  sediment  is  accumulat- 
ing, seaweed,  zoophytes,  fish,  and  even  shells,  may  multiply 
for  ages  and  decompose,  leaving  no  vestige  of  their  form  or 
substance  behind.  Their  decay,  in  water,  although  more 
slow,  is  as  certain  and  eventually  as  complete  as  in  the  open 
air.  Nor  can  they  be  perpetuated  for  indefinite  periods  in  a 
fossil  state,  unless  imbedded  in  some  matrix  which  is  im- 
pervious to  water,  or  which  at  least  does  not  allow  a free  per- 
colation of  that  fluid,  impregnated,  as  it  usually  is,  with  a 
slight  quantity  of  carbonic  or  other  acid.  Such  a free  per- 
colation may  be  prevented  either  by  the  mineral  nature  of 
the  matrix  itself,  or  by  the  superposition  of  an  impermeable 
stratum;  but  if  unimpeded,  the  fossil  shell  or  bone  will  be 
dissolved  and  removed,  particle  after  particle,  and  thus 
entirely  effaced,  unless  petrifaction  or  the  substitution  of 
some  mineral  for  the  organic  matter  happen  to  take  place. 

That  there  has  been  land  as  well  as  sea  at  all  former 
geological  periods,  we  know  from  the  fact  that  fossil  trees 
and  terrestrial  plants  are  imbedded  in  rocks  of  every  age, 
except  those  which  are  so  ancient  as  to  be  very  imperfectly 
known  to  us.  Occasionally  lacustrine  and  fluviatile  shells, 
or  the  bones  of  amphibious  or  land  reptiles,  point  to  the  same 
conclusion.  The  existence  of  dry  land  at  all  periods  of  the 
past  implies,  as  before  mentioned,  the  partial  deposition  of 
sediment,  or  its  limitation  to  certain  areas ; and  the  next 
point  to  which  I shall  call  the  reader’s  attention  is  the  shift- 
ing of  these  areas  from  one  region  to  another. 

First,  then,  variations  in  the  site  of  sedimentary  deposition 
are  brought  about  independently  of  subterranean  movements. 
There  is  always  a slight  change  from  year  to  year,  or  from 
century  to  century.  The  sediment  of  the  Rhone,  for  example, 
thrown  into  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  is  now  conveyed  to  a spot  a 
mile  and  a half  distant  from  that  where  it  accumulated  in 
the  tenth  century,  and  six  miles  from  the  point  where  the 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


423 


delta  began  originally  to  form.  We  may  look  forward  to  the 
pe-riod  when  this  lake  will  be  filled  up,  and  then  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  transported  matter  will  be  suddenly  altered,  for 
the  mud  and  sand  brought  down  from  the  Alps  will  thence- 
forth, instead  of  being  deposited  near  Geneva,  be  carried 
nearly  200  miles  southwards,  where  the  Rhone  enters  the 
Mediterranean. 

In  the  deltas  of  large  rivers,  such  as  those  of  the  Ganges 
and  Indus,  the  mud  is  first  carried  down  for  many  centuries 
through  one  arm,  and  on  this  being  stopped  up  it  is  dis- 
charged by  another,  and  may  then  enter  the  sea  at  a point 
50  or  100  miles  distant  from  its  first  receptacle.  The  direc- 
tion of  marine  currents  is  also  liable  to  be  changed  by  various 
accidents,  as  by  the  heaping  up  of  new  sandbanks,  or  the 
wearing  away  of  cliffs  and  promontories. 

But,  secondly,  all  these  causes  of  fluctuation  in  the  sedi- 
mentary areas  are  entirely  subordinate  to  those  great  upward 
or  downward  movements  of  land,  which  will  presently  be 
spoken  of,  as  prevailing  over  large  tracts  of  the  globe.  By 
such  elevation  or  subsidence  certain  spaces  are  gradually 
submerged,  or  made  gradually  to  emerge:  in  the  one  case 
sedimentary  deposition  may  be  suddenly  renewed  after  hav- 
ing been  suspended  for  one  or  more  geological  periods,  in  the 
other  as  suddenly  made  to  cease  after  having  continued  for 
ages. 

If  deposition  be  renewed  after  a long  interval,  the  new 
strata  will  usually  differ  greatly  from  the  sedimentary  rocks 
previously  formed  in  the  same  place,  and  especially  if  the 
older  rocks  have  suffered  derangement,  which  implies  a 
change  in  the  physical  geography  of  the  district  since  the 
previous  conveyance  of  sediment  to  the  same  spot.  It  may 
happen,  however,  that,  even  where  the  two  groups,  the 
superior  and  the  inferior,  are  horizontal  and  conformable  to 
each  other,  they  may  still  differ  entirely  in  mineral  charac- 
ter, because,  since  the  origin  of  the  older  formation,  the 
geography  of  some  distant  country  has  been  altered.  In  that 
country  rocks  before  concealed  may  have  become  exposed  by 
denudation;  volcanos  may  have  burst  out  and  covered  the 
surface  with  scoriae  and  lava ; or  new  lakes,  intercepting  the 
sediment  previously  conveyed  from  the  upper  country,  may 


424 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


have  been  formed  by  subsidence;  and  other  fluctuations  may 
have  occurred,  by  which  the  materials  brought  down  from 
thence  by  rivers  to  the  sea  have  acquired  a distinct  mineral 
character. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  stream  of  the  Mississippi  is 
charged  with  sediment  of  a different  colour  from  that  of  the 
Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers,  which  are  tinged  with  red  mud, 
derived  from  rocks  of  porphyry  and  red  gypseous  clays  in 
‘ the  far  west.’  The  waters  of  the  Uruguay,  says  Darwin, 
draining  a granitic  country,  are  clear  and  black,  those  of  the 
Parana,  red.1  The  mud  with  which  the  Indus  is  loaded,  says 
Bumes,  is  of  a clayey  hue,  that  of  the  Chenab,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  reddish,  that  of  the  Sutlej  is  more  pale.2  The  same 
causes  which  make  these  several  rivers,  sometimes  situated 
at  no  great  distance  the  one  from  the  other,  to  differ  greatly 
in  the  character  of  their  sediment,  will  make  the  waters 
draining  the  same  country  at  different  epochs,  especially 
before  and  after  great  revolutions  in  physical  geography,  to 
be  entirely  dissimilar.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that 
marine  currents  will  be  affected  in  an  analogous  manner  in 
consequence  of  the  formation  of  new  shoals,  the  emergence 
of  new  islands,  the  subsidence  of  others,  the  gradual  waste  of 
neighbouring  coasts,  the  growth  of  new  deltas,  the  increase  of 
coral  reefs,  volcanic  eruptions,  and  other  changes. 

Uniformity  of  change  considered,  secondly,  in  reference 
to  the  living  creation. — Secondly,  in  regard  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  living  creation,  all  are  agreed  that  the  successive 
groups  of  sedimentary  strata  found  in  the  earth’s  crust  are 
not  only  dissimilar  in  mineral  composition  for  reasons  above 
alluded  to,  but  are  likewise  distinguishable  from  each  other 
by  their  organic  remains.  The  general  inference  drawn 
from  the  study  and  comparison  of  the  various  groups, 
arranged  in  chronological  order,  is  this : that  at  successive 
periods  distinct  tribes  of  animals  and  plants  have  inhabited 
the  land  and  waters,  and  that  the  organic  types  of  the  newer 
formations  are  more  analogous  to  species  now  existing  than 
those  of  more  ancient  rocks.  If  we  then  turn  to  the  present 
state  of  the  animate  creation,  and  enquire  whether  it  has 


1 Darwin’s  Journal,  p.  163,  2nd  edit.,  p.  139. 

3Journ.  Roy.  Geograph.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  142. 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


425 


now  become  fixed  and  stationary,  we  discover  that,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  in  a state  of  continual  flux — that  there  are 
many  causes  in  action  which  tend  to  the  extinction  of  species, 
and  which  are  conclusive  against  the  doctrine  of  their  un- 
limited durability. 

There  are  also  causes  which  give  rise  to  new  varieties  and 
races  in  plants  and  animals,  and  new  forms  are  continually 
supplanting  others  which  had  endured  for  ages.  But  natural 
history  has  been  sucessfully  cultivated  for  so  short  a period, 
that  a few  examples  only  of  local,  and  perhaps  but  one  or 
two  of  absolute,  extirpation  of  species  can  as  yet  be  proved, 
and  these  only  where  the  interference  of  man  has  been  con- 
spicuous. It  will  nevertheless  appear  evident,  from  the  facts 
and  arguments  detailed  in  the  chapters  which  treat  of  the 
geographical  distribution  of  species  in  the  next  volume,  that 
man  is  not  the  only  exterminating  agent;  and  that,  inde- 
pendently of  his  intervention,  the  annihilation  of  species  is 
promoted  by  the  multiplication  and  gradual  diffusion  of  every 
animal  or  plant.  It  will  also  appear  that  every  alteration 
in  the  physical  geography  and  climate  of  the  globe  cannot 
fail  to  have  the  same  tendency.  If  we  proceed  still  farther, 
and  enquire  whether  new  species  are  substituted  from  time 
to  time  for  those  which  die  out,  we  find  that  the  successive 
introduction  of  new  forms  appears  to  have  been  a constant 
part  of  the  economy  of  the  terrestrial  system,  and  if  we  have 
no  direct  proof  of  the  fact  it  is  because  the  changes  take 
place  so  slowly  as  not  to  come  within  the  period  of  exact 
scientific  observation.  To  enable  the  reader  to  appreciate 
the  gradual  manner  in  which  a passage  may  have  taken  place 
from  an  extinct  fauna  to  that  now  living,  I shall  say  a few 
words  on  the  fossils  of  successive  Tertiary  periods.  When 
we  trace  the  series  of  formations  from  the  more  ancient  to 
the  more  modern,  it  is  in  these  Tertiary  deposits  that  we  first 
meet  with  assemblages  of  organic  remains  having  a near 
analogy  to  the  fauna  of  certain  parts  of  the  globe  in  our  own 
time.  In  the  Eocene,  or  oldest  subdivisions,  some  few  of  the 
testacea  belong  to  existing  species,  although  almost  all  of 
them,  and  apparently  all  the  associated  vertebrata,  are  now 
extinct.  These  Eocene  strata  are  succeeded  by  a great  num- 
ber of  more  modern  deposits,  which  depart  gradually  in  the 


426 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


character  of  their  fossils  from  the  Eocene  type,  and  approach 
more  and  more  to  that  of  the  living  creation.  In  the  present 
state  of  science,  it  is  chiefly  by  the  aid  of  shells  that  we  are 
enabled  to  arrive  at  these  results,  for  of  all  classes  the  tes- 
tacea  are  the  most  generally  diffused  in  a fossil  state,  and 
may  be  called  the  medals  principally  employed  by  nature  in 
recording  the  chronology  of  past  events.  In  the  Upper 
Miocene  rocks  (No.  5 of  the  table,  p.  135)  we  begin  to  find 
a considerable  number,  although  still  a minority,  of  recent 
species,  intermixed  with  some  fossils  common  to  the  preced- 
ing, or  Eocene,  epoch.  We  then  arrive  at  the  Pliocene  strata, 
in  which  species  now  contemporary  with  man  begin  to  pre- 
ponderate, and  in  the  newest  of  which  nine-tenths  of  the 
fossils  agree  with  species  still  inhabiting  the  neighbouring 
sea.  It  is  in  the  Post-Tertiary  strata,  where  all  the  shells 
agree  with  species  now  living,  that  we  have  discovered  the 
first  or  earliest  known  remains  of  man  associated  with  the 
bones  of  quadrupeds,  some  of  which  are  of  extinct  species. 

In  thus  passing  from  the  older  to  the  newer  members  of 
the  Tertiary  system,  we  meet  with  many  chasms,  but  none 
which  separate  entirely,  by  a broad  line  of  demarcation,  one 
state  of  the  organic  world  from  another.  There  are  no 
signs  of  an  abrupt  termination  of  one  fauna  and  flora,  and 
the  starting  into  life  of  new  and  wholly  distinct  forms. 
Although  we  are  far  from  being  able  to  demonstrate  geologi- 
cally an  insensible  transition  from  the  Eocene  to  the  Miocene, 
or  even  from  the  latter  to  the  recent  fauna,  yet  the  more  we 
enlarge  and  perfect  our  general  survey,  the  more  nearly  do 
we  approximate  to  such  a continuous  series,  and  the  more 
gradually  are  we  conducted  from  times  when  many  of  the 
genera  and  nearly  all  the  species  were  extinct,  to  those  in 
which  scarcely  a single  species  flourished  which  we  do  not 
know  to  exist  at  present.  Dr.  A.  Philippi,  indeed,  after  an 
elaborate  comparison  of  the  fossil  tertiary  shells  of  Sicily 
with  those  now  living  in  the  Mediterranean,  announced,  as 
the  result  of  his  examination,  that  there  are  strata  in  that 
island  which  attest  a very  gradual  passage  from  a period 
when  only  thirteen  in  a hundred  of  the  shells  were  like  the 
species  now  living  in  the  sea,  to  an  era  when  the  recent 
species  had  attained  a proportion  of  ninety-five  in  a hundred. 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


427 


There  is,  therefore,  evidence,  he  says,  in  Sicily  of  this  revo- 
lution in  the  animate  world  having  been  effected  ' without  the 
intervention  of  any  convulsion  or  abrupt  changes,  certain 
species  having  from  time  to  time  died  out,  and  others  having 
been  introduced,  until  at  length  the  existing  fauna  was 
elaborated.’ 

In  no  part  of  Europe  is  the  absence  of  all  signs  of  man 
or  his  works,  in  strata  of  comparatively  modern  date,  more 
striking  than  in  Sicily.  In  the  central  parts  of  that  island 
we  observe  a lofty  table-land  and  hills,  sometimes  rising  to 
the  height  of  3,000  feet,  capped  with  a limestone,  in  which 
from  70  to  85  per  cent,  of  the  fossil  testacea  are  specifically 
identical  with  those  now  inhabiting  the  Mediterranean. 
These  calcareous  and  other  argillaceous  strata  of  the  same 
age  are  intersected  by  deep  valleys  which  appear  to  have  been 
gradually  formed  by  denudation,  but  have  not  varied  mate- 
rially in  width  or  depth  since  Sicily  was  first  colonised  by 
the  Greeks.  The  limestone,  moreover,  which  is  of  so  late  a 
date  in  geological  chronology,  was  quarried  for  building 
those  ancient  temples  of  Girgenti  and  Syracuse,  of  which  the 
ruins  carry  us  back  to  a remote  era  in  human  history.  If 
we  are  lost  in  conjectures  when  speculating  on  the  ages 
required  to  lift  up  these  formations  to  the  height  of  several 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  to  excavate  the  valleys,  how 
much  more  remote  must  be  the  era  when  the  same  rocks 
were  gradually  formed  beneath  the  waters ! 

The  intense  cold  of  the  Glacial  period  was  spoken  of  in 
the  tenth  chapter.  Although  we  have  not  yet  succeeded  in 
detecting  proofs  of  the  origin  of  man  antecedently  to  that 
epoch,  we  have  yet  found  evidence  that  most  of  the  testacea, 
and  not  a few  of  the  quadrupeds,  which  preceded,  were  of 
the  same  species  as  those  which  followed  the  extreme  cold. 
To  whatever  local  disturbances  this  cold  may  have  given  rise 
in  the  distribution  of  species,  it  seems  to  have  done  little  in 
effecting  their  annihilation.  We  may  conclude  therefore, 
from  a survey  of  the  tertiary  and  modern  strata,  which  con- 
stitute a more  complete  and  unbroken  series  than  rocks 
of  older  date,  that  the  extinction  and  creation  of  species 
have  been,  and  are,  the  result  of  a slow  and  gradual  change 
m the  organic  world. 


428 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


Uniformity  of  change  considered,  thirdly,  in  reference  to 
subterranean  movements. — Thirdly,  to  pass  on  to  the  last  of 
the  three  topics  before  proposed  for  discussion,  the  reader 
will  find,  in  the  account  given  in  the  Second  Book,  Vol.  II., 
of  the  earthquakes  recorded  in  history,  that  certain  coun- 
tries have  from  time  immemorial,  been  rudely  shaken  again 
and  again ; while  others,  comprising  by  far  the  largest  part 
of  the  globe,  have  remained  to  all  appearance  motionless.  In 
the  regions  of  convulsion  rocks  have  been  rent  asunder,  the 
surface  has  been  forced  up  into  ridges,  chasms  have  opened, 
or  the  ground  throughout  large  spaces  has  been  permanently 
lifted  up  above  or  let  down  below  its  former  level.  In  the 
regions  of  tranquillity  some  areas  have  remained  at  rest,  but 
others  have  been  ascertained,  by  a comparison  of  measure- 
ments made  at  different  periods,  to  have  risen  by  an  insensi- 
ble motion,  as  in  Sweden,  or  to  have  subsided  very  slowly, 
as  in  Greenland.  That  these  same  movements,  whether 
ascending  or  descending,  have  continued  for  ages  in  the 
same  direction  has  been  established  by  historical  or  geolog- 
ical evidence.  Thus  we  find  on  the  opposite  coasts  of  Sweden 
that  brackish  water  deposits,  like  those  now  forming  in  the 
Baltic,  occur  on  the  eastern  side,  and  upraised  strata  filled 
with  purely  marine  shells,  now  proper  to  the  ocean,  on  the 
western  coast.  Both  of  these  have  been  lifted  up  to  an 
elevation  of  several  hundred  feet  above  high-water  mark. 
The  rise  within  the  historical  period  has  not  amounted  to 
many  yards,  but  the  greater  extent  of  antecedent  upheaval 
is  proved  by  the  occurrence  in  inland  spots,  several  hundred 
feet  high,  of  deposits  filled  with  fossil  shells  of  species  now 
living  either  in  the  ocean  or  the  Baltic. 

It  must  in  general  be  more  difficult  to  detect  proofs  of 
slow  and  gradual  subsidence  than  of  elevation,  but  the  theory 
which  accounts  for  the  form  of  circular  coral  reefs  and 
lagoon  islands,  and  which  will  be  explained  in  the  concluding 
chapter  of  this  work,  will  satisfy  the  reader  that  there  are 
spaces  on  the  globe,  several  thousand  miles  in  circumference, 
throughout  which  the  downward  movement  has  predomina- 
ted for  ages,  and  yet  the  land  has  never,  in  a single  instance, 
gone  down  suddenly  for  several  hundred  feet  at  once.  Yet 
geology  demonstrates  that  the  persistency  of  subterranean 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


429 


movements  in  one  direction  has  not  been  perpetual  through- 
out all  past  time.  There  have  been  great  oscillations  of 
level,  by  which  a surface  of  dry  land  has  been  submerged  to 
a depth  of  several  thousand  feet,  and  then  at  a period  long 
subsequent  raised  again  and  made  to  emerge.  Nor  have  the 
regions  now  motionless  been  always  at  rest;  and  some  of 
those  which  are  at  present  the  theatres  of  reiterated  earth- 
quakes have  formerly  enjoyed  a long  continuance  of  tran- 
quillity. But,  although  disturbances  have  ceased  after  hav- 
ing long  prevailed,  or  have  recommenced  after  a suspension 
for  ages,  there  has  been  no  universal  disruption  of  the 
earth’s  crust  or  desolation  of  the  surface  since  times  the 
most  remote.  The  non-occurrence  of  such  a general  convul- 
sion is  proved  by  the  perfect  horizontality  now  retained  by 
some  of  the  most  ancient  fossiliferous  strata  throughout  wide 
areas. 

That  the  subterranean  forces  have  visited  different  parts 
of  the  globe  at  successive  periods  is  inferred  chiefly  from  the 
unconformability  of  strata  belonging  to  groups  of  different 
ages.  Thus,  for  example,  on  the  borders  of  Wales  and 
Shropshire,  we  find  the  slaty  beds  of  the  ancient  Silurian 
system  inclined  and  vertical,  while  the  beds  of  the  overlying 
carboniferous  shale  and  sandstone  are  horizontal.  All  are 
agreed  that  in  such  a case  the  older  set  of  strata  had  suf- 
fered great  disturbance  before  the  deposition  of  the  newer  or 
carboniferous  beds,  and  that  these  last  have  never  since  been 
violently  fractured,  nor  have  ever  been  bent  into  folds, 
whether  by  sudden  or  continuous  lateral  pressure.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  more  ancient  or  Silurian  group  suffered  only 
a local  derangement,  and  neither  in  Wales  nor  elsewhere  are 
all  the  rocks  of  that  age  found  to  be  curved  or  vertical. 

In  various  parts  of  Europe,  for  example,  and  particularly 
near  Lake  Wener  in  the  south  of  Sweden,  and  in  many  parts 
of  Russia,  the  Silurian  strata  maintain  the  most  perfect  hori- 
zontality ; and  a similar  observation  may  be  made  respecting 
limestones  and  shales  of  like  antiquity  in  the  great  lake 
district  of  Canada  and  the  United  States.  These  older 
rocks  are  still  as  flat  and  horizontal  as  when  first  formed; 
yet,  since  their  origin,  not  only  have  most  of  the  actual 
mountain-chains  been  uplifted,  but  some  of  the  very  rocks 


430 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


of  which  those  mountains  are  composed  have  been  formed, 
some  of  them  by  igneous  and  others  by  aqueous  action. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  instances  of  similar  uncon- 
formability  in  formations  of  other  ages;  but  a few  more 
will  suffice.  The  carboniferous  rocks  before  alluded  to  as 
horizontal  on  the  borders  of  Wales  are  vertical  in  the 
Mendip  hills  in  Somersetshire,  where  the  overlying  beds  of 
the  New  Red  Sandstone  are  horizontal.  Again,  in  the  Wolds 
of  Yorkshire  the  last-mentioned  sandstone  supports  on  its 
curved  and  inclined  beds  the  horizontal  Chalk.  The  Chalk 
again  is  vertical  on  the  flanks  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  ter- 
tiary strata  repose  unconformably  upon  it. 

As  almost  every  country  supplies  illustrations  of  the  same 
phenomena,  they  who  advocate  the  doctrine  of  alternate 
periods  of  disorder  and  repose  may  appeal  to  the  facts  above 
described,  as  proving  that  every  district  has  been  by  turns 
convulsed  by  earthquakes  and  then  respited  for  ages  from 
convulsions.  But  so  it  might  with  equal  truth  be  affirmed 
that  every  part  of  Europe  has  been  visited  alternately  by 
winter  and  summer,  although  it  has  always  been  winter  and 
always  summer  in  some  part  of  the  planet,  and  neither  of 
these  seasons  has  ever  reigned  simultaneously  over  the 
entire  globe.  They  have  been  always  shifting  from  place 
to  place ; but  the  vicissitudes  which  recur  thus  annually  in 
a single  spot  are  never  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  inva- 
riable uniformity  of  seasons  throughout  the  whole  planet. 

So,  in  regard  to  subterranean  movements,  the  theory  of 
the  perpetual  uniformity  of  the  force  which  they  exert  on  the 
earth’s  crust  is  quite  consistent  with  the  admission  of  their 
alternate  development  and  suspension  for  long  and  indefi- 
nite periods  within  limited  geographical  areas. 

If,  for  reasons  before  stated,  we  assume  a continual  extinc- 
tion of  species  and  appearance  of  others  on  the  globe,  it  will 
then  follow  that  the  fossils  of  strata  formed  at  two  distant 
periods  on  the  same  spot  will  differ  even  more  certainly 
than  the  mineral  composition  of  those  strata.  For  rocks  of 
the  same  kind  have  sometimes  been  reproduced  in  the  same 
district  after  a long  interval  of  time ; whereas  all  the  evi- 
dence derived  from  fossil  remains  is  in  favour  of  the  opinion 
that  species  which  have  once  died  out  have  never  been 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


431 


reproduced.  The  submergence,  then,  of  land  must  be  often 
attended  by  the  commencement  of  a new  class  of  sedimentary 
deposits,  characterized  by  a new  set  of  fossil  animals  and 
plants,  while  the  reconversion  of  the  bed  of  the  sea  into  land 
may  arrest  at  once  and  for  an  indefinite  time  the  formation 
of  geological  monuments.  Should  the  land  again  sink,  strata 
will  again  be  formed;  but  one  or  many  entire  revolutions 
in  animal  or  vegetable  life  may  have  been  completed  in  the 
interval. 

As  to  the  want  of  completeness  in  the  fossiliferous  series, 
which  may  be  said  to  be  almost  universal,  we  have  only  to 
reflect  on  what  has  been  already  said  of  the  laws  governing 
sedimentary  deposition,  and  those  which  give  rise  to  fluctua- 
tions in  the  animate  world,  to  be  convinced  that  a very  rare 
combination  of  circumstances  can  alone  give  rise  to  such  a 
superposition  and  preservation  of  strata  as  will  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  gradual  passage  from  one  state  of  organic  life 
to  another.  To  produce  such  strata  nothing  less  will  be  req- 
uisite than  the  fortunate  coincidence  of  the  following  con- 
ditions: first,  a never-failing  supply  of  sediment  in  the  same 
region  throughout  a period  of  vast  duration;  secondly,  the 
fitness  of  the  deposit  in  every  part  for  the  permanent  preser- 
vation of  imbedded  fossils ; and,  thirdly,  a gradual  subsidence 
to  prevent  the  sea  or  lake  from  being  filled  up  and  converted 
into  land. 

It  will  appear  in  the  chapter  on  coral  reefs,  that,  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans,  most  of  these 
conditions,  if  not  all,  are  complied  with,  and  the  constant 
growth  of  coral,  keeping  pace  with  the  sinking  of  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  seems  to  have  gone  on  so  slowly,  for  such  indefi- 
nite periods,  that  the  signs  of  a gradual  change  in  organic 
life  might  probably  be  detected  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe 
if  we  could  explore  its  submarine  geology.  Instead  of  the 
growth  of  coralline  limestone,  let  us  suppose,  in  some  other 
place,  the  continuous  deposition  of  fluviatile  mud  and  sand, 
such  as  the  Ganges  and  Brahmapootra  have  poured  for 
thousands  of  years  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  Part  of  this  bay, 
although  of  considerable  depth,  might  at  length  be  filled  up 
before  an  appreciable  amount  of  change  was  effected  in  the 
fish,  mollusca,  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  sea  and  neigh- 


432 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


bouring  land.  But  if  the  bottom  be  lowered  by  sinking  at 
the  same  rate  that  it  is  raised  by  fluviatile  mud,  the  bay  can 
never  be  turned  into  dry  land.  In  that  case  one  new  layer  of 
matter  may  be  superimposed  upon  another  for  a thickness  of 
many  thousand  feet,  and  the  fossils  of  the  inferior  beds  may 
differ  greatly  from  those  entombed  in  the  uppermost,  yet 
every  intermediate  gradation  may  be  indicated  in  the  pas- 
sage from  an  older  to  a newer  assemblage  of  species.  Grant- 
ing, however,  that  such  an  unbroken  sequence  of  monuments 
may  thus  be  elaborated  in  certain  parts  of  the  sea,  and  that 
the  strata  happen  to  be  all  of  them  well  adapted  to  preserve 
the  included  fossils  from  decomposition,  how  many  accidents 
must  still  concur  before  these  submarine  formations  will  be 
laid  open  to  our  investigation ! The  whole  deposit  must  first 
be  raised  several  thousand  feet,  in  order  to  bring  into  view 
the  very  foundation;  and  during  the  process  of  exposure 
the  superior  beds  must  not  be  entirely  swept  away  by  denu- 
dation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  chances  are  nearly  as  three  to  one 
against  the  mere  emergence  of  the  mass  above  the  waters, 
because  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  globe  are  covered  by  the 
ocean.  But  if  it  be  upheaved  and  made  to  constitute  part  of 
the  dry  land,  it  must  also,  before  it  can  be  available  for  our 
instruction,  become  part  of  that  area  already  surveyed  by 
geologists.  In  this  small  fraction  of  land  already  explored, 
and  still  very  imperfectly  known,  we  are  required  to  find  a 
set  of  strata  deposited  under  peculiar  conditions,  and  which, 
having  been  originally  of  limited  extent,  would  have  been 
probably  much  lessened  by  subsequent  denudation. 

Yet  it  is  precisely  because  we  do  not  encounter  at  every 
step  the  evidence  of  such  gradations  from  one  state  of  the 
organic  world  to  another,  that  so  many  geologists  have  em- 
braced the  doctrine  of  great  and  sudden  revolutions  in  the 
history  of  the  animate  world.  Not  content  with  simply 
availing  themselves,  for  the  convenience  of  classification,  of 
those  gaps  and  chasms  which  here  and  there  interrupt  the 
continuity  of  the  chronological  series,  as  at  present  known, 
they  deduce,  from  the  frequency  of  these  breaks  in  the  chain 
of  records,  an  irregular  mode  of  succession  in  the  events 
themselves,  both  in  the  organic  and  inorganic  world.  But, 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


433 


besides  that  some  links  of  the  chain  which  once  existed  are 
now  entirely  lost  and  others  concealed  from  view,  we  have 
good  reason  to  suspect  that  it  was  never  complete  originally. 

It  may  undoubtedly  be  said  that  strata  have  been  always 
forming  somewhere,  and  therefore  at  every  moment  of  past 
time  Nature  has  added  a page  to  her  archives ; but,  in  refer- 
ence to  this  subject,  it  should  be  remembered  that  we  can 
never  hope  to  compile  a consecutive  history  by  gathering 
together  monuments  which  were  originally  detached  and 
scattered  over  the  globe.  For,  as  the  species  of  organic  be- 
ings contemporaneously  inhabiting  remote  regions  are  dis- 
tinct, the  fossils  of  the  first  of  several  periods  which  may  be 
preserved  in  any  one  country,  as  in  America  for  example, 
will  have  no  connection  with  those  of  a second  period  found 
in  India,  and  will  therefore  no  more  enable  us  to  trace  the 
signs  of  a gradual  change  in  the  living  creation,  than  a 
fragment  of  Chinese  history  will  fill  up  a blank  in  the  polit- 
ical annals  of  Europe. 

The  absence  of  any  deposits  of  importance  containing 
recent  shells  in  Chili,  or  anywhere  on  the  western  coast  of 
South  America,  naturally  led  Mr.  Darwin  to  the  conclusion 
that  ‘ where  the  bed  of  the  sea  is  either  stationary  or  rising, 
circumstances  are  far  less  favourable  than  where  the  level  is 
sinking  to  the  accumulation  of  conchiferous  strata  of 
sufficient  thickness  and  extension  to  resist  the  average  vast 
amount  of  denudation.’8  In  like  manner  the  beds  of  super- 
ficial sand,  clay,  and  gravel,  with  recent  shells,  on  the  coasts 
of  Norway  and  Sweden,  where  the  land  has  risen  in  Post- 
tertiary  times,  are  so  thin  and  scanty  as  to  incline  us  to 
admit  a similar  proposition.  We  may  in  fact  assume  that 
in  all  cases  where  the  bottom  of  the  sea  has  been  undergoing 
continuous  elevation,  the  total  thickness  of  sedimentary 
matter  accumulating  at  depths  suited  to  the  habitation  of 
most  of  the  species  of  shells  can  never  be  great,  nor  can  the 
deposits  be  thickly  covered  by  superincumbent  matter,  so  as 
to  be  consolidated  by  pressure.  When  they  are  upheaved, 
therefore,  the  waves  on  the  beach  will  bear  down  and  dis- 
perse the  loose  materials;  whereas,  if  the  bed  of  the  sea 
subsides  slowly,  a mass  of  strata,  containing  abundance  of 
s Darwin’s  S.  America,  pp.  136,  139. 


434 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


such  species  as  live,  at  moderate  depths,  may  be  formed  and 
may  increase  in  thickness  to  any  amount.  It  may  also  ex- 
tend horizontally  over  a broad  area,  as  the  water  gradually 
encroaches  on  the  subsiding  land. 

Hence  it  will  follow  that  great  violations  of  continuity  in 
the  chronological  series  of  fossiliferous  rocks  will  always 
exist,  and  the  imperfection  of  the  record,  though  lessened, 
will  never  be  removed  by  future  discoveries.  For  not 
only  will  no  deposits  originate  on  the  dry  land,  but  those 
formed  in  the  sea  near  land,  which  is  undergoing  constant 
upheaval,  will  usually  be  too  slight  in  thickness  to  endure 
for  ages. 

In  proportion  as  we  become  acquainted  with  larger  geo- 
graphical areas,  many  of  the  gaps,  by  which  a chronological 
table,  like  that  given  at  page  135,  is  rendered  defective, 
will  be  removed.  We  were  enabled  by  aid  of  the  labours 
of  Prof.  Sedgwick  and  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  to  inter- 
calate, in  1838,  the  marine  strata  of  the  Devonian  period, 
with  their  fossil  shells,  corals,  and  fish,  between  the  Silurian 
and  Carboniferous  rocks.  Previously  the  marine  fauna  of 
these  last-mentioned  formations  wanted  the  connecting 
links  which  now  render  the  passage  from  the  one  to  the  other 
much  less  abrupt.  In  like  manner  the  Upper  Miocene  has 
no  representative  in  England,  but  in  France,  ^Germany,  and 
Switzerland  it  constitutes  a most  instructive  link  between 
the  living  creation  and  the  middle  of  the  great  Tertiary 
period.  Still  we  must  expect,  for  reasons  before  stated,  that 
chasms  will  for  ever  continue  to  occur,  in  some  parts  of  our 
sedimentary  series. 

Concluding  remarks  on  the  consistency  of  the  theory  of 
gradual  change  with  the  existence  of  great  breaks  in  the 
series. — To  return  to  the  general  argument  pursued  in  this 
chapter,  it  is  assumed,  for  reasons  above  explained,  that  a 
slow  change  of  species  is  in  simultaneous  operation  every- 
where throughout  the  habitable  surface  of  sea  and  land; 
whereas  the  fossilisation  of  plants  and  animals  is  confined  to 
those  areas  where  new  strata  are  produced.  These  areas,  as 
we  have  seen,  are  always  shifting  their  position,  so  that  the 
fossilising  process,  by  means  of  which  the  commemoration 
of  the  particular  state  of  the  organic  world,  at  any  given 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


435 


time,  is  effected,  may  be  said  to  move  about,  visiting  and 
revisiting  different  tracts  in  succession. 

To  make  still  more  clear  the  supposed  working  of  this 
machinery,  I shall  compare  it  to  a somewhat  analogous  case 
that  might  be  imagined  to  occur  in  the  history  of  human 
affairs.  Let  the  mortality  of  the  population  of  a large 
country  represent  the  successive  extinction  of  species,  and 
the  births  of  new  individuals  the  introduction  of  new  species. 
While  these  fluctuations  are  gradually  taking  place  every- 
where, suppose  commissioners  to  be  appointed  to  visit  each 
province  of  the  country  in  succession,  taking  an  exact 
account  of  the  number,  names,  and  individual  peculiarities 
of  all  the  inhabitants,  and  leaving  in  each  district  a register 
containing  a record  of  this  information.  If,  after  the  com- 
pletion of  one  census,  another  is  immediately  made  on  the 
same  plan,  and  then  another,  there  will  at  last  be  a series 
of  statistical  documents  in  each  province.  When  those  be- 
longing to  any  one  province  are  arranged  in  chronological 
order,  the  contents  of  such  as  stand  next  to  each  other  will 
differ  according  to  the  length  of  the  intervals  of  time  be- 
tween the  taking  of  each  census.  If,  for  example,  there  are 
sixty  provinces,  and  all  the  registers  are  made  in  a single 
year  and  renewed  annually,  the  number  of  births  and  deaths 
will  be  so  small,  in  proportion  to  the  whole  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, during  the  interval  between  the  compiling  of  two  con- 
secutive documents,  that  the  individuals  described  in  such 
documents  will  be  nearly  identical ; whereas,  if  the  survey  of 
each  of  the  sixty  provinces  occupies  all  the  commissioners 
for  a whole  year,  so  that  they  are  unable  to  revisit  the  same 
place  until  the  expiration  of  sixty  years,  there  will  then  be  an 
almost  entire  discordance  between  the  persons  enumerated 
in  two  consecutive  registers  in  the  same  province.  There 
are,  undoubtedly,  other  causes,  besides  the  mere  quantity  of 
time,  which  may  augment  or  diminish  the  amount  of  dis- 
crepancy. Thus,  at  some  periods  a pestilential  disease  may 
have  lessened  the  average  duration  of  human  life ; or  a 
variety  of  circumstances  may  have  caused  the  births  to  be 
unusually  numerous,  and  the  population  to  multiply;  or  a 
province  may  be  suddenly  colonised  by  persons  migrating 
from  surrounding  districts. 


436 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


These  exceptions  may  be  compared  to  the  accelerated  rate 
of  fluctuations  in  the  fauna  and  flora  of  a particular  region, 
in  which  the  climate  and  physical  geography  may  be  under- 
going an  extraordinary  degree  of  alteration. 

But  I must  remind  the  reader  that  the  case  above  pro- 
posed has  no  pretensions  to  be  regarded  as  an  exact  parallel 
to  the  geological  phenomena  which  I desire  to  illustrate ; for 
the  commissioners  are  supposed  to  visit  the  different  prov- 
inces in  rotation ; whereas  the  commemorating  processes 
by  which  organic  remains  become  fossilised,  although  they 
are  always  shifting  from  one  area  to  the  other,  are  yet  very 
irregular  in  their  movements.  They  may  abandon  and  revisit 
many  spaces  again  and  again,  before  they  once  approach 
another  district;  and,  besides  this  source  of  irregularity,  it 
may  often  happen  that,  while  the  depositing  process  is  sus- 
pended, denudation  may  take  place,  which  may  be  compared 
to  the  occasional  destruction  by  fire  or  other  causes  of  some 
of  the  statistical  documents  before  mentioned.  It  is  evident 
that  where  such  accidents  occur  the  want  of  continuity  in 
the  series  may  become  indefinitely  great,  and  that  the  monu- 
ments which  follow  next  in  succession  will  by  no  means  be 
equidistant  from  each  other  in  point  of  time. 

If  this  train  of  reasoning  be  admitted,  the  occasional  dis- 
tinctness of  the  fossil  remains,  in  formations  immediately  in 
contact,  would  be  a necessary  consequence  of  the  existing 
laws  of  sedimentary  deposition  and  subterranean  movement, 
accompanied  by  a constant  dying-out  and  renovation  of 
species. 

As  all  the  conclusions  above  insisted  on  are  directly  op- 
posed to  opinions  still  popular,  I shall  add  another  compari- 
son, in  the  hope  of  preventing  any  possible  misapprehension 
of  the  argument.  Suppose  we  had  discovered  two  buried  cities 
at  the  foot  of  Vesuvius,  immediately  superimposed  upon  each 
other,  with  a great  mass  of  tuff  and  lava  intervening,  just  as 
Portici  and  Resina,  if  now  covered  with  ashes,  would  overlie 
Herculaneum.  An  antiquary  might  possibly  be  entitled  to 
infer,  from  the  inscriptions  on  public  edifices,  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  inferior  and  older  city  were  Greeks,  and 
those  of  the  modern  towns  Italians.  But  he  would  reason 
very  hastily  if  he  also  concluded  from  these  data,  that  there 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


437 


had  been  a sudden  change  from  the  Greek  to  the  Italian 
language  in  Campania.  But  if  he  afterwards  found  three 
buried  cities,  one  above  the  other,  the  intermediate  one  being 
Roman,  while,  as  in  the  former  example,  the  lowest  was 
Greek  and  the  uppermost  Italian,  he  would  then  perceive  the 
fallacy  of  his  former  opinion,  and  would  begin  to  suspect 
that  the  catastrophes,  by  which  the  cities  were  inhumed 
might  have  no  relation  whatever  to  the  fluctuations  in  the 
language  of  the  inhabitants;  and  that,  as  the  Roman  tongue 
had  evidently  intervened  between  the  Greek  and  Italian,  so 
many  other  dialects  may  have  been  spoken  in  succession,  and 
the  passage  from  the  Greek  to  the  Italian  may  have  been 
very  gradual,  some  terms  growing  obsolete,  while  others 
were  introduced  from  time  to  time. 

If  this  antiquary  could  have  shown  that  the  volcanic 
paroxysms  of  Vesuvius  were  so  governed  as  that  cities 
should  be  buried  one  above  the  other,  just  as  often  as  any 
variation  occurred  in  the  language  of  the  inhabitants,  then, 
indeed,  the  abrupt  passage  from  a Greek  to  a Roman,  and 
from  a Roman  to  an  Italian  city,  would  afford  proof  of 
fluctuations  no  less  sudden  in  the  language  of  the  people. 

So,  in  Geology,  if  we  could  assume  that  it  is  part  of  the 
plan  of  Nature  to  preserve,  in  every  region  of  the  globe,  an 
unbroken  series  of  monuments  to  commemorate  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  organic  creation,  we  might  infer  the  sudden 
extirpation  of  species,  and  the  simultaneous  introduction  of 
others,  as  often  as  two  formations  in  contact  are  found  to 
include  dissimilar  organic  fossils.  But  we  must  shut  our 
eyes  to  the  whole  economy  of  the  existing  causes,  aqueous, 
igneous,  and  organic,  if  we  fail  to  perceive  that  such  is  not 
the  plan  of  Nature. 

I shall  now  conclude  the  discussion  of  a question  with 
which  we  have  been  occupied  since  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
chapter — namely,  whether  there  has  been  any  interruption, 
from  the  remotest  periods,  of  one  uniform  and  continuous 
system  of  change  in  the  animate  and  inanimate  world.  We 
were  induced  to  enter  into  that  enquiry  by  reflecting  how 
much  the  progress  of  opinion  in  Geology  had  been  influenced 
by  the  assumption  that  the  analogy  was  slight  in  kind,  and 
still  more  slight  in  degree,  between  the  causes  which  pro- 


438 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


duced  the  former  revolutions  of  the  globe,  and  those  now  in 
every-day  operation.  It  appeared  clear  that  the  earlier  geol- 
ogists had  not  only  a scanty  acquaintance  with  existing 
changes,  but  were  singularly  unconscious  of  the  amount  of 
their  ignorance.  With  the  presumption  naturally  inspired  by 
this  unconsciousness,  they  had  no  hesitation  in  deciding  at 
once  that  time  could  never  enable  the  existing  powers  of 
nature  to  work  out  changes  of  great  magnitude,  still  less 
such  important  revolutions  as  those  which  are  brought  to 
light  by  ;Geology.  They  therefore  felt  themselves  at  liberty 
to  indulge  their  imaginations  in  guessing  at  what  might 
be,  rather  than  enquiring  what  is;  in  other  words,  they 
employed  themselves  in  conjecturing  what  might  have  been 
the  course  of  Nature  at  a remote  period,  rather  than  in 
the  investigation  of  what  was  the  course  of  Nature  in  their 
own  times. 

It  appeared  to  them  far  more  philosophical  to  speculate 
on  the  possibilities  of  the  past,  than  patiently  to  explore  the 
realities  of  the  present;  and  having  invented  theories  under 
the  influence  of  such  maxims,  they  were  consistently  unwil- 
ling to  test  their  validity  by  the  criterion  of  their  accordance 
with  the  ordinary  operations  of  Nature.  On  the  contrary, 
the  claims  of  each  new  hypothesis  to  credibility  appeared 
enhanced  by  the  great  contrast,  in  kind  or  intensity,  of  the 
causes  referred  to  and  those  now  in  operation. 

Never  was  there  a dogma  more  calculated  to  foster  indo- 
lence, and  to  blunt  the  keen  edge  of  curiosity,  than  this 
assumption  of  the  discordance  between  the  ancient  and  exist- 
ing causes  of  change.  It  produced  a state  of  mind  unfavour- 
able in  the  highest  degree  to  the  candid  reception  of  the 
evidence  of  those  minute  but  incessant  alterations  which 
every  part  of  the  earth’s  surface  is  undergoing,  and  by  which 
the  condition  of  its  living  inhabitants  is  continually  made  to 
vary.  The  student,  instead  of  being  encouraged  with  the 
hope  of  interpreting  the  enigmas  presented  to  him  in  the 
earth’s  structure — instead  of  being  prompted  to  undertake 
laborious  enquiries  into  the  natural  history  of  the  organic 
world,  and  the  complicated  effects  of  the  igneous  and  aqueous 
causes  now  in  operation — was  taught  to  despond  from  the 
first.  Geology,  it  was  affirmed,  could  never  rise  to  the  rank 


UNIFORMITY  OF  CHANGE 


439 


of  an  exact  science;  the  greater  number  of  phenomena  must 
for  ever  remain  inexplicable,  or  only  be  partially  elucidated 
by  ingenious  conjectures.  Even  the  mystery  which  invested 
the  subject  was  said  to  constitute  one  of  its  principal  charms, 
affording,  as  it  did,  full  scope  to  the  fancy  to  indulge  in  a 
boundless  field  of  speculation. 

The  course  directly  opposed  to  this  method  of  philoso- 
phising consists  in  an  earnest  and  patient  enquiry,  how  far 
geological  appearances  are  reconcilable  with  the  effect  of 
changes  now  in  progress,  or  which  may  be  in  progress  in 
regions  inaccessible  to  us,  but  of  which  the  reality  is  attested 
by  volcanos  and  subterranean  movements.  It  also  endea- 
vours to  estimate  the  aggregate  result  of  ordinary  operations 
multiplied  by  time,  and  cherishes  a sanguine  hope  that  the 
resources  to  be  derived  from  observation  and  experiment,  or 
from  the  study  of  Nature  such  as  she  now  is,  are  very 
far  from  being  exhausted.  For  this  reason  all  theories  are 
rejected  which  involve  the  assumption  of  sudden  and  vio- 
lent catastrophes  and  revolutions  of  the  whole  earth,  and 
its  inhabitants — theories  which  are  restrained  by  no  refer- 
ence to  existing  analogies,  and  in  which  a desire  is  mani- 
fested to  cut,  rather  than  patiently  to  untie,  the  Gordian 
knot. 

We  have  now,  at  least,  the  advantage  of  knowing,  from 
experience,  that  an  opposite  method  has  always  put  geolo- 
gists on  the  road  that  leads  to  truth — suggesting  views  which, 
although  imperfect  at  first,  have  been  found  capable  of  im- 
provement, until  at  last  adopted  by  universal  consent;  while 
the  method  of  speculating  on  a former  distinct  state  of  things 
and  causes  has  led  invariably  to  a multitude  of  contra- 
dictory systems,  which  have  been  overthrown  one  after 
the  other — have  been  found  incapable  of  modification — 
and  which  have  often  required  to  be  precisely  reversed. 

The  remainder  of  this  work  will  be  devoted  to  an  investi- 
gation of  the  changes  now  going  on  in  the  crust  of  the  earth 
and  its  inhabitants.  The  importance  which  the  student  will 
attach  to  such  researches  will  mainly  depend  on  the  de- 
gree of  confidence  which  he  feels  in  the  principles  above 
expounded.  If  he  firmly  believes  in  the  resemblance  or 
identity  of  the  ancient  and  present  system  of  terrestrial 


440 


SIR  CHARLES  LYELL 


changes,  he  will  regard  every  fact  collected  respecting 
the  cause  in  diurnal  action  as  affording  him  a key  to  the 
interpretation  of  some  mystery  in  the  past.  Events  which 
have  occurred  at  the  most  distant  periods  in  the  animate 
and  inanimate  world  will  be  acknowledged  to  throw  light 
on  each  other,  and  the  deficiency  of  our  information  re- 
specting some  of  the  most  obscure  parts  of  the  present 
creation  will  be  removed.  For  as,  by  studying  the  external 
configuration  of  the  existing  land  and  its  inhabitants,  we 
may  restore  in  imagination  the  appearance  of  the  ancient 
continents  which  have  passed  away,  so  may  we  obtain 
from  the  deposits  of  ancient  seas  and  lakes  an  insight 
into  the  nature  of  the  subaqueous  processes  now  in  opera- 
tion, and  of  many  forms  of  organic  life  which,  though 
now  existing,  are  veiled  from  sight.  Rocks,  also,  pro- 
duced by  subterranean  fire  in  former  ages,  at  great  depths 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  present  us,  when  upraised  by 
gradual  movements,  and  exposed  to  the  light  of  heaven, 
with  an  image  of  those  changes  which  the  deep-seated 
volcano  may  now  occasion  in  the  nether  regions.  Thus, 
although  we  are  mere  sojourners  on  the  surface  of  the 
planet,  chained  to  a mere  point  in  space,  enduring  but  for 
a moment  of  time,  the  human  mind  is  not  only  enabled  to 
number  worlds  beyond  the  unassisted  ken  of  mortal  eye,  but 
to  trace  the  events  of  indefinite  ages  before  the  creation 
of  our  race,  and  is  not  even  withheld  from  penetrating 
into  the  dark  secrets  of  the  ocean,  or  the  interior  of  the 
solid  globe;  free,  like  the  spirit  which  the  poet  described 
as  animating  the  universe, 

ire  per  omnes 

Terrasque,  tractusque  maris,  coelumque  profundum.4 

4 “ To  go  through  all  lands,  and  the  tracts  of  the  ocean,  and  the  bound* 
less  heaven.” 


I 


